Metal Gear Solid: Black Demise
by GoncaloCCastro
Summary: This Fan Fic is a sequel to the Iron Grip. See the Metal Gear universe from different points of view.
1. Chapter 1

Metal Gear Solid Black Demise

All Metal Gear, Snatcher, Policenauts Characters and Names belong to Konami

Author's Note

The prequel to this Fan Fiction (Metal Gear Solid Iron Grip) was the first time I ever wrote something longer than two pages of Microsoft Word™. Several people really liked it and when I finished it I thought I couldn't do any better so I wrote other stuff, other stories, writing became a pastime to me thanks to the Iron Grip. After the E3 2006 MGS4 trailer I began thinking about a short story that took place after the Iron Grip, but I soon realized that I was coming with an entire, full blown, sequel. Although I think that the story in this new Fan Fiction is a lot more intricate because of all the characters and what they are going through than the Iron Grip I also think it became an exercise of writing to me. I began the real writing only this year and it took longer than expected because of school, but now it's very close to the end. I still rewrite stuff whenever I have the chance, and I always will…

Chapter 1

"The Pacific Ocean, a vast and many times an unforgiving place. Two months after the Washington D.C. incident something happened. An aircraft carrier was heading to the east of the United States with unknown cargo. My mission was a simple rescue operation…I should've known better…"

In the stillness of the night a pair of green goggles looked out of the helicopter window. "I can't see anything, are you sure it's here?" A male gruff voice asked.

"I'm sure," A small transmitter in the man's ear crackled back. "By the way how's Snake doing Raiden?"

Raiden took off the night vision goggles, placed them on the ground and turned to the side. Someone was leaning on the other window and like Raiden he too was covered with a large black cloak over his entire body.

Snake promptly turned to Raiden and their eyes met. He reached for his ear. "I'm doing just fine Otacon" He replied sarcastically.

"Still unsure if you should've taken Raiden with you? Huh!?" Otacon answered back.

Raiden stared at Snake, but he said nothing.

"Well anyway you should be getting near about now!" Otacon replied.

"Are you sure about this insertion method? How do we know that there aren't that many men on deck?" Snake asked.

"You worry too much! About the conditions, its pouring rain so be careful" Otacon said. "Even with the SCS if it rains too much you'll get spotted"

"Right" Snake replied as he took his tranquilizer gun from under the cloak. "Are you sure about that weapon?" Snake gestured to what looked like a 28 inches tube sitting on the floor.

"Sure I am. Otacon assured that this is state of the art in blades" Raiden said as he noticed Snake practicing aiming with his gun. "I can use it to stun enemies quite efficiently"

"I just hope it gets you by alive" Snake replied and packed his gun.

Suddenly from within the cargo room of the helicopter a VA went on. "We're here!! I'm setting down, landing in thirty seconds"

"Alright! Raiden this is it. Take my lead" Snake got ready to open his side door and so did Raiden.

"Remember, it should be near the bridge, probably on the floor below. After you get the objective get the info and after that we're out of here. Signal the helicopter back" Otacon said. "Good luck!"

"We're here!! Move out!!" The VA went on again Raiden opened the side door and they both jumped out.

* * *

The footsteps were the only thing audible as the man walked across the pool of dead men. A man wearing a black suit complete with a white tie. His face was fairly young, and his long black hair in a ponytail made him look like an experienced young man. He had a small curved blade on his hand. He reached for the inside of his ear and then spoke. "It's me" The voice was steady and firm.

"Is it done?" The voice on the other side sounded rough and with an accent.

"Of course…Shalashaska" The man replied.

"Very good indeed, worthy of your name, Black Tiger" Shalashaska replied. "It seems we underestimated the Unit by not letting you work domestically."

"We!?" Black Tiger replied.

"Upload the antivirus and get out" Shalashaska replied quickly changing the conversation.

"Very well" Black Tiger turned off the radio and headed down a small stairwell.

On the other end, Shalashaska was positively beaming. Something was going to begin, something that could possibly change the future of the world.

* * *

If everything had gone according to plan there should be no one on deck, because if there were they would've, undoubtedly, heard the noise that two men make as they jump from a helicopter. Both Snake and Raiden fell to the deck. Raiden was quick on his feet and landed safely, Snake however had to get on one knee to prevent from falling on his face. "We're down. We'll call when we're done" Snake said.

The small transmitter inside Snake and Raiden's ear crackled again. "Alright! I'll fly over it until then"

Snake and Raiden looked up and through the immense rain that came down on them they saw the outline of the helicopter. It had been fitted with Stealth Camouflage technology that Otacon invented.

"Can you guys hear me?" Otacon said, hoping to be heard in their transmitters.

"Yeah" Raiden replied.

"Loud and clear Otacon!" Snake said. "We're taking the cloaks now and activating the SCS"

Both men looked at each other and nodded. With a swift motion they threw the cloak to the wind and stood on the deck motionless. The SCS or Stealth Camouflage Suit was invented for these kinds of situation. Its batteries lasted about fifteen minutes but it had close to none refraction. "Activating lenses!" Raiden said. Suddenly everything was bright red. The special infrared contact lenses made it possible for several PSC equipped soldiers to operate with each other.

"I hate this crap!!" Snake sounded off. "Makes me want to scratch my eyes!"

Raiden saw only a red figure by his side touching near the area of his eyes.

"You better refrain yourself from it Snake. You won't be able to see anything at night in this weather" Otacon advised.

Indeed the fog, the rain and the blackness of the night made it impossible for anyone to see them, however the PSC was to be used more inside and that's were they were headed.

"We need to move Raiden" Snake said as he pulled his tranquilizer gun out. A small wire was coming from the grip of the gun and connected directly to the SCS belt making it also invisible.

"I'll be right behind you Snake" Raiden said as he took out his High Frequency Blade and like Snake's gun connected a wire from the handle to the SCS belt.

They had landed in the farthest site from the bridge. It was safer this way however while walking towards the main building Snake noticed there were no planes outside.

"I don't like this Snake. It's too quiet "Raiden replied holding his sword upside down, prepared for any situation.

"We knew that security would be minimal, but you're right. This is weird"

The main building was getting closer and they had encountered no resistance so far. The main door was visible, a single blue light bulb stood on the top lighting up the path.

"Otacon we're here" Snake said. "We're moving in!!"

"Roger that" Otacon replied.

Both Snake and Raiden readied their positions. If anyone was near the door he wouldn't be awake for long. Snake pushed the door open and without notice both he and Raiden were blind. "What the!!!"

"The lights are on! Otacon!" Raiden almost shouted as his sense of vision had gone.

"Turn the lenses off" Otacon shouted in their ears.

They complied and almost immediately hoped that they didn't. Sprawled across the floor were several navy men. Their flashlights were on and with the biggest of clarity Snake and Raiden saw the atrocity that had occurred here. Most of the men had been wounded in the stomach area and their insides were quite visible. One navy man, it seemed, had tried to escape by going up the stairs, however he failed miserably and ended up with a severed head.

"My…!!" Raiden said. "What happened here?!"

"I don't know, I just hope it doesn't have anything to do with her." _Meryl…_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I'm at the computer now" Black Tiger talked to Ocelot through his earpiece. "The upload should be complete in five minutes"

"Any problems so far?" Ocelot asked.

"None of consequence. I had to turn some systems on and I took care of the officers and of the traitor…" Black Tiger replied.

"And the rest of the crew?"

"I locked the rest of the rooms, they are all below deck"

"Good, very good." Ocelot said with a gleeful tone.

* * *

"That's it. I'm turning off the SCS Otacon!" Snake said.

"Wha…why?" Otacon asked startled.

Without warning Snake came into full view. Raiden could see him in the bright lights. The SCS had it own specialized suit. For the most part it was grey but some patches of the suit were of a faint yellow. A weird looking balaclava protected Snake's head.

"This isn't like you thought it would be Otacon. It's obvious we can't use this thing and work together. We have to go in visible" Snake stated as he reached for his eyes and took out his contact lenses.

"I'm with you Snake" Raiden replied and did the same thing.

Snake reached for the balaclava and pulled it. Apart from the lack of a bandana Snake looked like his old self. He even had a clean shave. Raiden also looked fairly the same. The scratches, on his face, that he got two months ago were nothing but faint scars.

"Just so you know, those suits offer almost no protection" Otacon said still trying to figure out why anyone would want to be seen in a place filled with dead bodies and potential threats. "By the way, I can't seem to turn off the lights. They're built into a different system it would take maybe an hour to hack into…"

"Forget it…" Snake interrupted. "We'll have to deal with it" Snake put a rest to the conversation. "We're heading into the holding area. We'll be radio silent until we find something to report" Snake said and turned off his CODEC.

Raiden stood closely behind Snake, holding his blade steady and fast. They headed down some stairs, Snake kept his gun pointed ready to shoot on sight, still it began to dawn on him that he wouldn't be shooting a lot. The hallways and steep stairs were filled with dead corpses, some murdered in more humane ways than others.

"Who could've done this?" Raiden said as he kept a close eye on the rear.

"I have no idea, but whoever they are they are very good. It has to be an experienced team" Snake said as they both noticed not a single shot had been fired.

"You got that right" Raiden replied.

As they got to the base of some stairs they heard a faint noise. It sounded like a human grunt. It was coming from a room to their left, the door was ajar.

"Get ready" Snake whispered.

Both got ready to clear the room. Snake nodded and they jumped inside, gun and blade at the ready, however they only encountered a man bleeding badly from his chest beside a desk.

"Uhhh…please…" Blood spewed out from his mouth. "…the comp…"

Snake kneeled beside the man. "Where's the prisoner?" Snake was to the point, this was why he was here nothing else mattered.

"no…you're not…la-li-lu-le-lo…" The man said as his breathing seemed to be getting away from him.

_What! The Patriots! _"What are you talking about!!?" Snake grabbed a hold of the man's head. "Where's Meryl?" He asked. Unfortunately the man's eyes were vacant.

"He's dead Snake." Raiden pointed out.

Snake let go of his head and closed his eyes. _Please Meryl, stay alive. _Snake reached for his CODEC. "Otacon! Are you there?"

"Yeah! Go ahead" Otacon replied sensing something was off.

"This just keeps getting worse. It seems the Patriots are involved in this somehow" Snake said casting doubt in an already shady operation.

"The Patriots" Every time the word was mentioned depression would set in.

"Get the Colonel on the line we need to talk to them!!" Snake said remembering how this whole operation had started.

* * *

Large glass doors opened up and Snake went inside closely followed by Otacon. A large table occupied most of the space of the room. Monitors were spread across the table to assure that anyone sitting down could see.

"Snake, that's quite a suit you got there" A man with a deep voice said as Snake approached him. In fact Snake looked quite different and albeit not being a suit it still looked odd. He was sporting black pants and shoes and a black sweater. Otacon on his hand was sporting the same old rugged white jacked and green T-Shirt. He had blue pants and overused blue trainers.

"Colonel!" Snake nodded.

"From your face I gather that Dr. Emmerich has briefed you on Meryl's disappearance?" Roy Campbell said with a sturdy face. Colonel Campbell as Snake called him wasn't a Colonel anymore however he still imposed the same respect as if he was. He wore a dark blue suit and a black tie, but his pose seemed to be one of discomfort. He pulled up a chair and stretched out his hand. "Please let's sit down." Campbell reached for an intercom on the table. "Mei, could you come here please?"

"I'll be right there" Mei Ling's voice was unmistakable.

"Can we cut the chase Colonel?" Snake said a bit impatient.

"I'll give you the basics then" Campbell's face changed. It become older filled with wrinkles and worry. "Two weeks ago I received a message from a great friend of mine, Captain Jean Gibson."

Suddenly the doors opened up and both Snake and Otacon turned around to see who it was.

"Long time no see you guys!" Mei Ling was as beautiful as she ever was. Her hair was caught in the bun and two chopsticks served to keep it in place. She wore what looked like a tight black kimono, devoid of any decoration.

"How's the SSCEN?" Otacon asked while Snake stared at Mei Ling's tight dress.

"I see you like my suit!" She said with a smile on her face noticing Snake's stare and completely ignoring Otacon's question. "I'm trying to rediscover my roots, so I decided to wear this…"

"Mei!" Campbell interrupted.

"Oh, sorry…" Mei approached one of the chairs and sat down, right next to Snake and Otacon.

"As I was telling them" Campbell started again. "Jean said in the message that he needed help."

"Help?" Snake inquired.

"Yes, apparently he wanted to get out, escape from where he was…at first I thought it was a joke, but it sounded like Jean so I asked Mei Ling to help me confirm his identity, that's why she's here" The Colonel said sighing.

"Since the Colonel saved the call and although the quality was very poor I confirmed that it was indeed Captain Jean J. Gibson, I compared it with…"

"Otacon told me that Meryl had gone missing. Missing where?" Snake asked interrupting Mei Ling.

"To where Jean said he was, a carrier…Snake I had no choice, you know Meryl…she presented quite a few reasonably arguments why I should let her go and infiltrate the carrier…" Campbell said as his head dropped.

"He's right Snake" Mei Ling said. "This couldn't be a standard Philanthropy operation; it had nothing to do with any Metal Gear investigation"

"I made some calls and called in a few favors, I already had the location of where the carrier would be from Jean and I got some transport to reach it"

"After that you only needed a soldier. Somebody you could control…" Snake said clearly upset.

"No!!" Campbell spat back. "She wanted to help me, after ten days I saw no way out other than to send her in…I'm sorry…" Campbell got up and turned his back on everyone present. "…I should have told you but…"

Snake sighed and turned to Otacon and then to Mei Ling. "If I'm going in, I can't go alone. Not in a carrier, it's too big"

Campbell turned around and looked straight into Snake's eyes. "Who do you want to take?"

Snake stood silent for a few second before replying. "Raiden"

* * *

Back on the carrier Snake and Raiden were creeping towards the brig. It seemed that the trail of dead bodies ended near a stairwell that led to the bridge. "Now what?" Raiden asked.

Snake sighed heavily. "Meryl should be on this floor, let's go on"

"Alright, man this carrier's layout is weird!" Raiden replied.

"It's a good thing Otacon found something to hack in this carrier otherwise we'd be going in blind…" _Not that we are much better now!_

Both continued along the path towards the brig. It was located in a safe area of the carrier, beneath the bridge. Unlike other aircraft carriers, this one was built in a different way. According to Otacon this was the first time anyone except the Navy had been aboard. From the information he gathered which was close to none he decided to call the carrier the USS Unknown. The walkways were very tight; more so than any other ship. "We're close!" Snake said as he noticed the "Holding" sign. As they got closer and closer they saw the door to the brig. _Let's hope she's here…_"Alright, open it up Raiden" Snake said as he stayed behind with his tranquilizer gun pointed out.

Raiden placed his sword on his back and got near the hatch. He reached for it and as soon as he tried to turn it he noticed it wasn't moving. "It's stuck!" Raiden did another effort, but nothing happened.

"What the hell?" Snake reached for his ear. "Otacon we're outside the Holding door but it's closed, can you open it?"

"Hold on a sec…no, in my end it shows an unlocked door, the hatch should turn easily…wait…unless…" Otacon sounded like he was thinking out loud.

"Unless what?" Snake snapped back.

"Oh, unless someone locked it from the carrier computer, that way it will be impossible for me to open it. It could be the same people that killed off the crew"

"We will be outnumbered Snake, but I'm ready for it" Raiden stated as he drew out his sword.

"Right…we go for it, but we might have a chance if we use the SCS" Snake said.

"But you can't see each other if the lights are on." Otacon pointed.

"We'll risk it" Raiden said seeing that Snake wouldn't be demoted of his idea.

Snake nodded. "Let's move out…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Unknown carrier bridge was quite different from normal carrier bridges. A small computer terminal was near the windows, next to the navigational controls. The rest of the well lit room was filled with weapons control, communication and everything needed to control a ship this size, but the overall arrangement of the stations was different.

"It's done. I took a while longer than what Phantom told me" Black Tiger said.

"Then the mission is over." Ocelot replied. "Your work is practically done, the Patriots will be content"

"It's an honor to serve my country…" Suddenly Black Tiger heard something near the doorway. It had sounded like a faint metallic sound.

"Is something wrong?" Ocelot asked.

Black Tiger narrowed his eyes. "No…I don't think so"

"Very well. It's time to leave that place then." Ocelot said. _Everything is going according to plan._

"Until we meet again" Black Tiger said as he reached for his earpiece and turned the transmitter off, he then placed a small optical disk in his pocket. _Could they be crewmen!? _Black Tiger looked out of the window and saw the pouring rain. A slight grin came across his face. _The __weather__ is on my side._

Black Tiger stealthy reached for the blade on his waist and suddenly whipped around.

* * *

Snake and Raiden got to the stairwell that led to the bridge. "Let's do this" Snake said when Otacon popped on his ear.

"Snake I've got the Colonel online" Otacon said.

"Now isn't the time, we're approaching the bridge" Snake replied.

"Snake!" It was Campbell. "Maybe you should wait before moving in. perhaps you should let the hostiles leave and then…"

"No! We're moving now and then you're going to tell me if you knew this had something to do with the Patriots" Snake replied back.

"Snake, Otacon told me about the man you found, but you've got to believe me I didn't know anyth…."

"Snake!" Raiden said interrupting Snake's conversation. "I hear someone talking"

"Very well, Colonel we'll talk later." Snake turned off the transmitter. "If we move now we should catch them off guard. I'll go ahead Raiden. Stay at least four feet away from me to make sure we don't kill each other." Raiden positioned himself about four feet behind Snake in front of the stairwell. "I'm turning the SCS now" Snake said and immediately he disappeared from Raiden's view, even the gun was invisible. Raiden followed suit and then kept a safe distance as they moved along hoping he wouldn't clash into Snake and alert everyone inside the bridge. The stairwell was tight and the fact that they couldn't see themselves made it extremely difficult to move without hesitation. Unfortunately, probably because of bad measuring, the tip of Raiden's sword, which he now had in his hand brushed with the rail of the stairwell. Raiden heard Snake's grunt as they reached the bridge. It was surprisingly well lit and a single man was inside with his back turned to them.

_One man! _Snake thought. _Maybe the others are scattered. _Soon, however Snake would realize that this man was different. Snake and Raiden were still a few feet from the man. Raiden was by the door as Snake positioned himself to the side. Yet, whilst Snake moved the man made a swift motion and turned with incredible speed. A slash noise was heard, he had cut the skipper's chair that was right next to him from the ground and then kicked it while it was in midair. With the other hand he threw something to the windows that were now behind him. The chair flew into the air towards Raiden. He readied his sword and without hesitation cut the chair in half avoiding it completely. The windows shattered and all the noise, wind and rain from the outside poured in. Snake aimed for the man, but something was wrong, a string of some sort was tied to his left hand and Snake soon noticed that what he had thrown out of the windows was coming back, this time towards him. Snake ducked at the last minute and whatever was on the end of the string smashed into a workbench behind him sending sparks all over the place. Before the lights went out Snake heard as the object that had been thrown to him wheezed past him again. Snake and Raiden were quick to react as they reached inside their equipment, placed the lenses on their eyes and turned them on. Unfortunately the place was now deserted. "Raiden are you ok?" Snake said as he turned to him and saw two halves of a chair on the ground behind him.

"He's gone! He got out through the windows" Raiden stated the obvious.

"Hurry! Try to find something to open the holding area: I'll see if I can find where he got to." Snake said as he rushed past the communications workbench and reached the broken windows. Beneath the windows was a walkway, Snake quickly jumped past the broken windows frame and landed on the walkway. In the distance he could see somebody running.

"Snake!! I've got it" Raiden shouted through the windows. "I'm going to get Meryl…oh no!!" He said in a tone of disbelief.

Snake looked up and saw Raiden by the window looking straight ahead. Snake turned around and he saw it too, something unbelievable.

* * *

"What you mean camouflaged?" Ocelot asked sounding a bit upset.

"At least two men!! I was able to distract them and run…I'm heading for the boat now!" Black Tiger said panting as he ran across the floor, right beneath him was the deck and further along was a ladder leading to his boat.

"Don't get caught!! If they find that disc…in fact its better that you dispose of it." Ocelot replied.

"Very well! Did they come to help him?" Black Tiger asked he reached the stairs that led to the deck.

"Probably…"Ocelot replied calmly.

"I'm near the boat…I'll sign off…" Black Tiger turned his earpiece transmitter off again and when he reached the end of the stairs he heard a thud behind him followed by a voice.

"FREEZE!!"

* * *

The hundred square feet room was practically deserted. A woman sat by a corner with her knees close to her head. For the past minutes she had heard a few shouts of agony in the outer room, but she had no idea who or what had caused them. She was wearing an old Navy Mechanic uniform. She had been stripped away of her clothes and her freedom, however as there was no noise in the room, except for breathing, she heard a faint click. She raised her head and heard another click. This one sounded very close to the door in front of her, a door which for the most part of the days was locked. She leaned on the wall and got herself up. She moved her hair from her eyes and she could definitely see that the door was indeed unlocked, but no one was coming in. Carefully she headed for the door. Slowly and steady she reached it and as she pushed it open she saw the faces of two dead bodies. "Oh!" She gasped at the sight. The lights on the outer room were flickering. She looked up and saw that something had broken the lights protective glass. As much as the dead faces were hard to look at the woman knew one of the deceased, it had been the purpose of this mission and it lay dead cold on the floor. _Captain Jean Gibson…I'm sorry uncle…_ Without notice the door of the outer room opened up. The woman jumped back frightened, but it was no reason for alarm. Albeit being threatening the woman knew the person standing in the doorway. "Raiden?" She said.

"We've been looking for you, Meryl."

* * *

The lights on the carrier deck were now on, probably due to the fight on the bridge something had made them go on. And now that the fog was gone Snake and Raiden saw the abysmal sight. About twenty of the dreaded machines sat on top of the deck waiting to be awake. They were exactly like the Metal Gears Snake had encountered in Washington D.C. Probably equipped with the same powerful laser. "This can't be!!" Snake said to himself not believing his eyes, as it turned out this had to do more with Metal Gear than they thought. _That man…_Snake snapped out of it and focused. _I need to get him…he has to know something about this. _Snake immediately turn his head upwards and saw Raiden through his red lenses. "Raiden we can figure out this later!! Get Meryl." Snake sped off ignoring anything that Raiden might have said. He had to get to the bottom of this. About twenty highly dangerous computer controlled machines were heading for the eastern and that man knew something. The race across the deck was a furious one. Although Snake didn't like the lenses over his eyes he could easily see the path before him, up ahead a few feet Snake saw him. The man was going down some stairs. However Snake couldn't just sneak up behind him, somehow the man had found out that someone was behind him on the bridge. Snake had to improvise. While running he looked over the protective wall and saw that he could jump down. He wasn't as athletic as before but he couldn't let go of this chance. He ran until he got close to the stairs than he cleared the wall and jumped down. The impact wasn't soft and Snake knew almost for sure that he had broke some bones in his feet, but that didn't deter him.

"FREEZE!!" He said as he aimed his gun to the back of the man.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"What about…" Raiden started shouting as he saw Snake speed off. "Crap!" Snake was out of sight. Raiden turned around and decided to head down to the holding area, as he did he reached for the CODEC. "Otacon are you there?"

"Yeah. What's the update?" Otacon asked.

"Snake went after the hostile." Raiden replied quickly reaching the bridge stairwell.

"Are you saying it was only one?" Otacon asked.

"It seems that way, he noticed us even with the SCS on" Raiden was reaching the door to the holding area. He quickly turned off the SCS, removed the red lenses from his eyes inserted his sword on its cover and shoved the door open. Right in front of her stood a startled woman.

"Raiden?" She said clearly startled.

"We've been looking for you, Meryl" Raiden said. "C'mon we've got to move!" He gestured to her so she would hurry.

"Snake!" Meryl knew that if Raiden said 'We' Snake had to be with him. "Where is he?"

"I'm not sure, I'll check but we've got to hurry…" Raiden gestured again and Meryl followed him out of the room.

"Otacon, patch me through to Snake!" Raiden said as he took a hold of Meryl's arm and led her to the left.

"Where are we going?" She asked as she felt Raiden's grip on her arm.

"To the deck…Snake's there…I think"

"I've got him" Otacon came on the CODEC again.

Raiden was quick to initiate the conversation "Snake it's me I've got Meryl. We're heading towards the deck…" But he could hear Snake already talking.

"What do you mean?" Raiden heard Snake say.

_What the hell? _Raiden thought to himself. Snake seemed to be talking to someone. "Don't move or I'll shoot!" Raiden heard Snake say.

"Up ahead." Meryl pointed with her right index to a sign on the wall. 'Upper Deck'

Raiden nodded while running and listening to Snake at the same time.

"Ahh!!" Raiden heard Snake grunting and then static.

"Otacon I've lost him!" Raiden said slowing down his pace.

"I did too." Otacon replied.

"What happened?" Meryl asked.

"Snake can you hear me?" Raiden heard Otacon say on the CODEC as Meryl's piercing eyes looked straight into his.

"Raiden what happened to Snake?" She asked again.

"I can't reach him!" Otacon replied sounding a bit preoccupied.

Raiden looked up and saw the door that led to the deck. "We're close to the deck. We'll find him" Raiden said decisively as he pressed on up the stairs with Meryl following close behind.

* * *

"Slowly turn around" Snake ordered while looking at the man down his sights.

Initially he just stood still. "And don't even think to wave your hand!" Snake said as he looked to the man's left hand and saw a string attached to it.

The man began laughing and started to turn around. "I have other ways to kill you." The voice was profound and calm as if it was the most normal of situations. "I killed all the officers and the man that wanted to blow them up" Black Tiger said as he completed the turn. Snake could now see his enemy, albeit being just a red blob.

"Blow what up?" Snake asked.

"Humph." Black Tiger smiled. "Like you don't know? That invisible suit won't fool me? You came to help him didn't you?"

Snake had no idea of what Black Tiger was talking about. Suddenly Raiden came on the CODEC. "Snake it's me I've got Meryl. We're heading towards the deck…"_ Good work, but I can't talk right now. I have find out what this man is doing here._

"What do you mean?" Snake hoped Raiden would be quiet, maybe he would even get here before the man tried anything. Until then Snake would attempt to get something out of him.

Black Tiger grinned and jerked his right hand slightly.

"Don't move or I'll shoot!" Snake said noticing it.

What happened next was too fast for Snake to see. Something shot out from under the man's right sleeve and hit Snake on the right side of his chest. "Ahh!!" The pain was incredibly strong, so much so that it sent Snake to the ground. As he fell his head hit the deck floor, the impact even threw the CODEC out of his ear. Even worse was the fact that the SCS began to disappear. Snake blinked his eyes several times because the back of his head was throbbing with pain. Beyond the red lenses Snake could see what had to be small sparks flying out of the suit. Snake reacted immediately by getting back on his feet and pointing his tranquilizer gun, however right away something rolled around the gun. Some kind of blade connected to a string that in turn was probably wrapped around the man's wrists. The man pulled the string and Snake felt his gun leaving his hands and most likely sent overboard. Snake used his, now free, right hand and took out the lenses. In front of him stood a man wearing what looked like an ordinary black suit, swerving two weird blades on his hands.

"Now, whoever you are…" Suddenly lighting struck just a few feet from the deck and at that moment Black Tiger stopped swerving his blades and opened his eyes wide. _It can't be!! _

Snake was fast on the uptake. He quickly got up and reached for something strapped on his back, a knife. At least now he had somewhat of a fighting chance.

"You?" Black Tiger said not believing his eyes.

* * *

Meryl and Raiden ran across the doorway and found themselves on the deck of the carrier. As the distance shortened between them and the Metal Gears they became more threatening. Noticing Meryl's lack of astonishment Raiden asked. "You knew about them didn't you?"

Meryl turned and looked at him. "I saw them when I infiltrated this place..." Her head fell. "…I was captured soon after that."

"We better get going." Raiden said fully aware that Meryl was disappointed with herself.

"Yes" She replied and both ran off again. They had to go to the back of the main building were Raiden had last seen Snake.

* * *

"What about me?" Snake asked with his rough voice as he held his knife tight behind his right leg. Hopefully the man hadn't seen it yet.

"Salil...you…you're the one…the one that killed Salil!" Black Tiger said. He looked deeply into the face of the man in front of him and there was no doubt, this man was his sworn enemy.

"What are you talking about?" Snake said oblivious to what might have had happened to this man.

"You…you look just like him …" Black Tiger blinked his eyes. "You're the one that killed Liquid"

_Liquid!!_ Snake said calmly. "Yeah, I killed him. What's it to you?" He hadn't thought much about that day in Washington D.C. when he had finally shot Liquid dead, or so he thought, unfortunately for Snake, Liquid was still very much alive.

Black Tiger's face changed from surprise to a weird frenzy. "It makes no sense that you are here…or does it, no matter I'll take it…I'll take my revenge!"

The moment had arrived, in a split second, when Black Tiger looked at the floor beneath him Snake advanced without fear. He ran towards his enemy with the knife tightly secured in his right hand. Black Tiger promptly reacted and threw both his blades towards Snake. The first one wrapped itself around Snake's left arm, but as the distance between them was smaller the blade didn't have enough momentum to pierce his arm, it was just hanging. The other was heading straight to Snake's face and on another lightning reaction Snake placed the knife in front of it and fortunately hit the string, albeit not cutting it the weird shaped blade missed Snake's face by a few inches and wrapped itself around the knife.

"How did you?" Black Tiger was keeping a fierce grip on the strings, not letting Snake make any moves. It was a stand-off. Snake and Black Tiger kept grunting and trying to force each other out of it. Snake's left arm was getting worse by the second. The tight grip on the string felt like an Indian burn on his arm. Snake had to hurry. He looked at Black Tiger and noticed his movements. Every now and then he would pull the right string a little bit. It was instinct, it happened in a stand-off situation. Both kept trying each other to see if someone was backing down. However in this particular scenario Snake could take advantage of it. Although the pain was getting bigger in his arm he had to wait for the right time. _C'mon…_ And then it came.

* * *

The floor was slippery and every step should be taken with extreme carefulness, but Raiden and Meryl couldn't afford to waste time. Snake was fighting alone with someone who had probably killed all the men that Raiden and Meryl had seen before.

The run across the deck was a fast one and not soon enough they reached the back of the main building. However the lights weren't nearly enough as the ones near the Metal Gears. "Hold on a sec." Raiden said as he reached for his equipment and took out his lenses.

Meryl looked inquisitive at Raiden as he placed the lenses and looked into the distance, where the stormy night clouded everything.

"I see two people…Oh wait!! Somebody's…." Raiden flinched for a second. He couldn't believe his eyes. "Son of a…" He looked at Meryl. "Let's move"

* * *

Snake pulled with his right hand as hard as he could and this allowed for the string around the knife to get slightly loose, and before Black Tiger noticed he slid the knife down and grabbed the weird looking shaped blade. "Uh!" Black Tiger reacted and Snake didn't wait. He threw the blade almost at the same time that Black Tiger pulled the string. The trajectory was weird and with absolutely no control over it the blade lunged itself towards Black Tiger's left hand. The strike was horrid. The very sharp blade slit Black Tiger's left hand clean off. Both the string and the blade fell off the deck. Unfortunately Snake couldn't have known that Black Tiger's reaction was to move his right hand to hold his left arm. The enormous elevator right next to them hadn't been a matter of concern to Snake, now however the situation was different. As Black Tiger pulled his right arm, Snake was thrown off balance, his left arm lunged forwards and Snake fell to his knees.

"Bastard!! How could you!!" Black Tiger shouted as he saw what pulling his right arm had done. "You really are like him!" Black Tiger let go of his bleeding wrist and began pulling the string every time Snake tried to get up. By doing this he kept Snake on the floor and got near him. It didn't take long for Snake to see the blood spatters mixing with the rain water. "Now it's my time…my time to kill you" Black Tiger loosened the string around Snake's left arm and before he could do anything he kicked him as hard as he could in the head and effectively threw him down into the lift below. It was something like Snake had never experienced before. He was falling down, watching his enemy looking down at him as he threw something shiny overboard and began to move away. The fall almost felt like flying, but before Snake knew it all went black.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"The times. People's values change over time. And so do the leaders of a

country. So there's no such thing as an enemy in absolute terms. The enemies we fight are only in relative terms, constantly changing with the times." - The Boss, 1964.

* * *

Everything was blurry. His body felt sore, but in an instant he remembered. _I fell!! _Snake jerked upwards and hurt his back in the process. He raised his right arm and got it to his face, to rub his eyes. After he focused his vision he saw that he wasn't on the carrier anymore. He was lying on a bed in what looked like an emergency ward. Several beds lay empty all around him. The whiteness of the entire room made it harder for Snake to focus. He looked to his left arm and saw that he had an intravenous line. _What the hell!_ Suddenly a massive double door to his left opened and Snake saw the Doctor. Of course it wasn't any doctor. "Naomi? Is it you?"

"Don't tell me your eyes are going out?" Naomi's clean voice was unmistakable. "Don't be alarmed, you're fine now" She said getting closer to Snake's bed. She was wearing a white lab coat and her brown hair was wrapped in a ponytail.

"Where am I?" Snake asked as he saw Naomi taking out the intravenous line. It felt weird.

"I thought you'd recognize this place" Naomi said. "Philanthropy Head Quarters"

"How did I get here?" Snake asked. "Wait, how about Meryl! And…and Raiden?"

"Hold on." Naomi grabbed an empty bench and sat beside Snake. "Before we get to all that I have to speak to you

"About what?" Snake said as he pulled the bed sheets down. "It's important…it's about your health." Naomi said hoping Snake would stop for a second before rushing out of the ward.

"We don't have time for this. Did Raiden tell you about the Metal Gears we found?" Snake pressed on now sitting himself on the bed, the next move would be to walk out.

"Snake please!" Naomi pleaded.

"C'mon you can have your fun with me later." Snake said.

"Snake…" Naomi sighed. "You've been in a coma for six months!" She said bluntly.

Snake's eyes opened wide. "What!! That can't be!"

"Now that I've got your attention, would you please listen to me?"

"Six months!" Snake said still sounding incredulous.

Naomi sighed again. "About your health…"

"What about it?" Snake promptly asked.

"I've been administrating drugs through the nanomachines in your body." Naomi saw the reaction coming before she ended the sentence.

"Nanomachines!! I hate those things!! Why were you giving me drugs in the first place!" Snake reacted quickly, but unfortunately Naomi got up from the bench and looked Snake straight on the eyes.

"You'll know why soon enough, in fact I wasn't sure you would wake up today, but he'll be glad you did" She placed her hand on Snake's face. "You look like when we met. You need a shave and a haircut"

"What's on your mind Naomi?" Snake asked as he saw her eyes tearing up a little bit.

"I…I'm not sure of what I did."

"…" Snake remained puzzled silently looking at her.

"We didn't have a chance to talk in Washington, but…"

"This is about FOXDIE isn't it?"

Naomi turned her eyes and stared at Snake's. "I'm sor…"

"Don't!" Snake interrupted. "There's nothing to be sorry about, you did what you thought was right to avenge someone you loved…"

"But you saved me, and I never…"

"Naomi!" Snake stopped her again. "You said that I needed to choose life, remember. That's exactly what I did. I'm through with looking at the past"

"The past is all I have, even here I feel like I'm not myself." Naomi sighed. "Anyway that's enough of my problems, just wait here for second alright" Naomi turned away from Snake and headed to the door.

"Naomi!?"

"Yes?" She asked.

"When the time comes, you'll find yourself."

And with a slight smile she turned around and headed out the door.

Snake was a bit puzzled, but not from the talk he had just had. He already knew that no matter what he did he could drop dead at any time however something more important was going on. He only hoped everything would be clarified soon. He then took his own hand to his face and in fact noticed that he needed a shave.

"I can help you with that if you want." A female voice said.

Snake jerked his head in the direction of the ward door and saw both Meryl Silverburgh and Roy Campbell heading inside.

"Meryl…Colonel…what happened? "

"I'll answer all your questions Snake, but not here. I just came to see if you can get out of bed like Dr. Naomi said you could" The Colonel replied. His voice hadn't changed a bit since the last time they met and although he was using a black suit and tie instead of his usual uniform he still looked extremely authoritarian.

"If I've been in a coma for six months, I don't' think I'll be able to move for a while." Snake stated.

The Colonel sighed before saying anything. "Unfortunately we need you now and hopefully the nanomachines fitted into your body made it possible for your physical condition to be close to what it was when you first went into the coma."

Snake narrowed his eyes. "What's going on Colonel?"

"Everything in due time Snake, for now I'd take on Meryl's offer and get a shave, after that we'll meet in the situation room." The Colonel retreated back and exited the ward. Meryl on the other hand got closer to Snake. She was wearing a dark blue jacket and her ordinary soldier's trousers.

"Snake." She said before lunging towards him and embracing him. At that moment Snake felt at ease. The beautiful smell and feel of Meryl's bright red hair was all that he needed.

"Meryl, I'm glad you're safe. Raiden did a good job"

Meryl took his arms from around Snake and looked into his eyes. "Snake …I'm sorry." Meryl looked to be in the verge of tears.

"What is it?" Meryl sounded preoccupied. "What's going on…is this about what the Colonel was talking about?"

"No…it isn't. This is about us. I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"I…I don't know where I fit in Snake!!"

"Not you too!" Snake whispered so that Meryl couldn't hear him.

Meryl got up and walked up to the foot of Snake's bed. "When you came for me, I felt like I had failed, like I had no strength at all…like I was just some other woman waiting to be saved, a damsel in distress…a rookie."

"Meryl!" Snake stretched his arm and reached for Meryl's hand. "You had no idea you'd get captured." He got a hold of her hand and felt it shaking.

"No Snake. I can't live thinking you'll always be there to save me. It's no way to live my life…I…I..." Meryl pulled her hand from Snake's grasp and turned around. "I'm sorry but you'll have to shave for yourself." She picked up the pace and headed out of the ward before Snake could say anything. He didn't know what to think of what had just happened. Without obsessing over it Snake successfully got out of bed and realized that is physical condition was indeed very good. He then noticed that on the bed beside his was an electric shaver and blue scrubs. He would shave and then head towards the situation room, whatever the problem was, it couldn't be good. Add to this the fact that Meryl had just shoved Snake out of her life and the feeling of waking up from a six months coma was not what Snake thought it would be.

* * *

The situation room in Philanthropy HQ was the meeting place. It was surrounded by thick glass and a large table was at its centre. Several screens populated the table. A woman dressed in a formal brown suit was sitting in front of a computer screen and reading some papers. An identification card was strapped on the left side of her suit. It said "Mei Ling" with large bolded letters above it "VISITOR". A man, opposite of Mei Ling, was wearing a white jacket and he kept jerking his glasses while typing furiously on a computer's keyboard. Colonel Campbell was on the end of the table and as he saw Snake entering the room he signaled for him to sit down. All looked to fit in this office, except for Snake who was wearing medical scrubs.

"Snake!!" Otacon got to his feet and looked at Snake attentively

"How are you Otacon?" Snake asked seeing a smile on Otacon's face.

"Snake let me just say it's good to see you in good condition." Campbell started.

"Can you just tell me what happened, Colonel, why was I dragged out of the ward here? What's going on?" Snake looked at Otacon as he sat down.

"I'll get to the point Snake" Campbell got up from his chair. "The mission on the Unknown Carrier was…a setup"

Snake listened carefully as he saw the Colonel behaving differently, like something had slipped through his fingers.

"You, Raiden and my niece were salvaged from the carrier safely and afterwards we tried to get more intelligence, but we were too late. The carrier was gone from the radar and the Metal Gears made it ashore"

"What did we do to stop it?" Snake asked.

Campbell sighed. "I'll let Mei Ling show it to you" He stretched out his hand towards Mei Ling and she began.

"Hi Snake, nice to see you up" She smiled to him and then continued. "…anyway about a week after the carrier disappeared this happened." Mei pushed a few keys on the keyboard in front of her and images appeared on the computer monitors, placed on top of the desk. Snake could only see images of large explosions, one after the other. "What am I looking at?" Snake asked.

"What you're seeing is the destruction of those Metal Gears" Campbell said coldly. "These explosions were set off in twenty two underground facilities throughout the continental United States"

"Facilities like the one you found eight months ago in Washington D.C. "Mei Ling added.

"Twenty two…" Snake said.

"Yes" Campbell began again. "According to intelligence reports they were still in the construction phase but these attacks destroyed not only the facilities but everything around a one mile radius"

"Who…" Snake was beginning a question but Otacon steeped in.

"It couldn't have been the Patriots, these had to be their facilities and their Metal Gears…" Otacon hesitated for a second. "…However we're the ones are being partially blamed for this incident."

"What?" Snake reacted fast. "Did…did we have something to do with it?"

"Of course not!!" Campbell replied. "Innocent people lost their lives, caught in the blast radius!! We would never do anything like that, not to see a Metal Gear destroyed"

Mei Ling steeped in. "The U.N. received videos of Philanthropy's presence on the carrier, we don't know how but the Patriots made it clear to the United Nations that the carrier was loaded with defense systems and computers for the underground facilities and not weapons, and that we sabotaged these systems causing the twenty underground facilities to self destruct. Whatever the patriots cooked up, the U.N. bought it."

"It's more than obvious that like many times the U.N. was too slow to act giving the Patriots ample time to cover up. The United Nations never got info about any Metal Gears aboard the carrier, the government was clear when it presented evidence that the explosions were caused by these self destruction mechanisms on the underground bases in case they were ever compromised, they even described these underground facilities has protective bunkers for high ranking members of our government and general population in case of a nuclear war. But me and Meryl, we went to one of those facilities and we found out that was actually a virus implanted on the Metal Gears…maybe Jean knew something about it…" Campbell seemed rather agitated as he spoke.

_Captain Jean Gibson. _Snake thought about the man that had started it all."What about the massacred men aboard?"

"Most likely the U.N. never got any info about the men that died on the carrier. The D.O.D. (Department Of Defense) issued several military bulletins with several freakishly accidents around that time" Campbell replied lowering his head. "They covered it all up. Even Jean...he was accused of being a traitor, but no reason was given why"

"We do have a pretty good idea who uploaded the virus to the Metal Gears…" Otacon said changing the subject and giving Snake a hint.

"The intruder" Snake quickly pointed out. "He had to be him…that's what you meant when you said 'partially blamed'"

Campbell started again. "Yes, and that's where the situation gets worse. The U.N. asked us for something in order to…" Campbell made a funny look. "…'prove' our innocence, something set up by the Patriots no doubt" Campbell sounded disgusted. "Regrettably we have no choice. Philanthropy has to obey U.N. orders otherwise you, Raiden and probably everyone here have to get away from the U.S. and even that might not be enough"

_Raiden. _Snake thought. He had been with him on the carrier. "I understand all of this, but what does it have to do with me?"

"We were given a deadline…" Campbell said. "…seven months, that's why I asked Naomi to do whatever she could to take out of the coma you were in, it was risky but I had to do it. Even though we have a plan, time is running out"

"Seven months for what?" Snake asked swiftly with a tone of decisiveness, although being for the last months in a coma the situation, Snake thought, was precarious for everyone in Philanthropy. Now Snake understood Meryl's odd behavior from before.

"To put it simply the U.N., most likely pressured by the U.S. and of course the Patriots, wants us, namely you and Raiden to find and eliminate the members of something called the Black Unit. The person you encountered on the carrier was an operative of this unit." Campbell said now getting up again.

"I've never heard of them." Snake replied.

"I did." Suddenly to the left Naomi had just entered the situation room.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Naomi!!" Snake said wondering if she what she had to say made her act acted so peculiar before.

"Please join us Naomi" Campbell pointed to one of the empty chairs beside Mei Ling.

Naomi walked over and sat. She took a breath before starting. "This all happened after I went underground in the following of Shadow Moses and before Snake found me in Washington D.C." She swallowed dry. Despite everything that happened between Naomi and the U.S. government the people at Philanthropy trusted her, she wanted more than anything to tell the story right. "I had been travelling through Europe the last few months trying to find work of some kind, however it was the work that found me. A very rainy winter day in France I was kidnapped. At the time I thought somebody from the U.S. had caught up to me, however I was mistaken. A man calling himself Black Tiger, which unfortunately I couldn't see because of a shroud told me that if I did something for him he would give me some money, a lot of money, money to disappear"

_Black __T__iger…_ Snake thought about the name before Otacon steeped in. "That's where this man comes in." He got close to Mei Ling and pushed a few keys on her keyboard. A picture of black bald man with a bushy moustache popped up on the screen. "That's Dr. Edward Brown"

"Yes" Naomi resumed. "That was the man that Black Tiger wanted me to help"

"Help with what?" Snake asked looking at the picture. It showed the so called Dr. Edward Brown in some kind of research room.

"He had suffered severe burnings throughout his body, only his head was untouched. It took time but I got the infections under control until Black Tiger took him away from me and then turned me over…to the Patriots"

Snake waited to hear more from Naomi, but with her silent prolonging Snake decided to talk. "Is that it?" Snake turned his head to Campbell. "Colonel how does that help us?"

"Well you may find it to be a weird coincidence but I knew Dr. Ed Brown" It wasn't Campbell who responded, it was Otacon.

"…" Snake looked at Otacon intrigued.

"If you look in the background of the picture Snake you'll understand." Otacon said pointing to the screen. "In the wall"

Snake looked at the picture again and without much effort he saw it. "ARMSTECH" he looked again at his partner.

Otacon nodded as he jerked his glasses. "I met him briefly when Shadow Moses facility was visited by several important Armstech people. He was extremely intrigued by REX as he also worked in robotics"

"There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from." Said Mei Ling as Otacon and Campbell gave her weird looks. "It's a not very known quote from Elisabeth Kubler-Ross a psychiatrist that…"

"Thank you…" Otacon said interrupting. "As I was saying once we found out that the person Naomi had encountered was Dr. Ed Brown I did a bit of my own research. I hacked into Armstech…"

"Wait…I thought Armstech had gone out of business after Shadow Moses" Snake cut in.

"Yes it did, but their core database is still there, they had made huge advancements in weapons development and it's not like the weapons industry to get rid of high profitable research. Anyway I was able to find traces of several communications between Dr. Ed Brown and, I think, the Black Unit, this was a few weeks before he was injured and just a few days after Shadow Moses"

"This all sounds a bit…incomplete to me" Snake said.

"Yes...well, to get to the point, we think we know where the Black Unit is" Campbell said sounding a bit depressed. "

Mei Ling again pushed keys on her keyboard and once again a picture appeared on the screen.

"Thank you Mei Ling." Said the Colonel. "Africa, more precisely, Chad"

_Africa…_ Snake would never forget the continent in which he had gone through his first and most life changing mission of his career.

"To be even more precise it's this place." Otacon jumped in queuing Mei Ling to press the keys, which she did. "The images changed and an image of Chad appeared on the screen, a zoom was closing in on the north-eastern part of the country. "There's a tiny area there know as the Aswad Territory or Territoire Noir"

"Black Territory, that can't be a coincidence" Snake said as he looked attentively at the screen. Before it had all been talk but now it was coming more apparent that he would have to do this, he would have to go on a mission.

"I think that's enough for now…" Campbell said. "Here's the complete file Snake, you'll find all that was said here and a few more info. I'm leaving for my quarters" Campbell started walking towards the door. "Can I have a talk alone with you Snake?" He said as he got behind Snake's chair.

"Sure" Snake said rising from the chair and following Campbell near the exit door where they were out of earshot from the others.

"First of all I want to thank you for going in for Meryl…and second I have to apologize for this" Campbell sighed after speaking.

"Apologize!" Snake said. "For what?"

"For getting you into this mess, for getting you in a situation that I have no control over…Snake, this is no Philanthropy mission. It's obvious to me that the Patriots know that we didn't cause those explosions. We're being used by them to find the Black Unit, the real culprits of this entire mess. But I don't know why they want us…I can't find any reason…" Campbell sounded extremely anxious.

"Colonel…I'll do this because I don't want to see anybody dead or in jail, including myself…but I agree with you. This isn't like any other mission…"

Campbell gave a very faint smile. "You really are a good friend." Campbell placed his hand over Snake's shoulder. "I wish you good luck, but Snake even if you and Raiden are successful I'm not sure if Philanthropy as it is will go on…"

Snake nodded knowing too well that the Colonel was probably right.

* * *

"No of course not, I had no idea…I just found today…of course…yes, that's according to the schedule…no, I won't..." The rugged voice was more than familiar. "…very well, I'll do as instructed." Ocelot dropped the radio on the nearby table and smiled. "Perfect" 

The long black hair was wet like it had been under the rain for hours. However Black Tiger had just jumped from deep sleep into a wide awake state. His breathing was fast and he could fell the sweat on his bare back and the rest of his body. He took his right hand to his face and pushed the wet hair to the side. _That dream… _He got out of bed and reached for his black overcoat. He had slept for far too long, things were about to happen and he needed to be on alert. In the darkness of the room Black Tiger headed for the door and once he opened a gentle breeze flew across the well lit blue walled corridor.

"I was about to call you Master." Said a voice that came from the left of the opened door, Black Tiger turned his eyes. It looked to be a young person with long black oily hair covering most of its face, a thin bandanna secured the hair in place and only its right eye was visible. The person was wearing a normal black suit but instead of having a coat on it only had a black colored vest and a white shirt beneath it.

"It's you Marsh. What is it?" Black Tiger replied.

"He called for you five minutes ago, but I see that you're sleeping." Marsh's voice was very smooth and clear. "Having a bad dream I suppose" Said Marsh glancing up and noticing the sweat on his hair.

Black Tiger sighed. "I'm not sure what it was. Let's get going" Black Tiger closed the door behind him and followed Marsh across the corridor. As he did he couldn't stop wondering about the dream he had just had, did it meant anything? Black Tiger looked down to his left arm and his gloved hand.

"It is an abomination" Said Marsh looking behind and seeing Black Tiger holding his left gloved hand with his right. "It's not the way of a…"

"Quiet!" Said Black Tiger promptly interrupting Marsh's sentence. "We don't have time for this, I know about your beliefs and I know that you think this is not a fair advantage, but these are unfair times and until we settled this we'll use anything that may give us the edge." As Black Tiger finished saying this he smirked. "But I'm glad you have those standards." They resumed the walk until they arrived to a door that opened as soon as they reached it. It was a small room with a computer station with three monitors to the left. Once inside they were promptly greeted by someone very strange, a tall person wearing a grey hazmat suit, on his right arm, glued to the suit, was what looked like a small keyboard and a small screen.

"About time you arrived." The voice was of a man. Although muffled because of the hazmat suit is voice was clear and even though his entire body was protected by the suit the face plate was clear. A black face was clearly visible, with an expression of frustration. "His torture failed, we couldn't get any information."

Before answering Black Tiger entered the room and sat on an empty chair near the computer station. In front of the desk was a window, the other side was dark. "Don't worry." Black Tiger said coolly.

"Worry!" Said the black man raising his voice. "Don't you get it, they'll come and we'll be left in the dark you shouldn't have let him…"

"No!" Black Tiger intervened by raising his voice. "I have a plan so there's no need for worries."

"What plan?" Marsh, who was still in the doorway, asked with curiosity.

"Get V to meet me at the gate and you'll know." Black Tiger replied.

"Very well, Master." Marsh turned around and closed the door behind him.

"What is this plan?" The black man asked feeling a bit left out.

"Don't worry about it Phantom. You have other things to do." Black Tiger said. "I need you to search something for me on our network."

* * *

"Ninety seconds to landing!" A voice came over the plane intercom. Snake and Raiden looked at each other as they knew the time was coming close to begin the operation. 

Raiden had been kept staring at a photograph of a beautiful blonde woman holding a small child.

"You'll see her again." Snake said noticing it.

"Yeah." Raiden smiled faintly. "I know, it's just that…I…" Raiden sounded hesitant.

"What is it?" Snake asked as he saw Raiden placing the photograph in his equipment.

"It's nothing…I'm fine. And you?" Raiden asked.

Snake turned his head around and reached for his cigars and didn't answer. As he lit up a cigar a voice on the intercom came on. "One minute!"

Raiden got to his feet and checked his equipment carefully hidden beneath a light brown colored overcoat. Snake followed and did the same. He groped inside his equipment and took out a dark blue bandana. He held it in his hand and stared at it. _Meryl. _

"Thirty seconds!" The voice on the intercom came on.

Snake cleared his mind and placed his bandana tightly over his head. "Ready?" he turned to Raiden.

"Yeah." Raiden said as he nodded.

Both got close to the back of the plane. Its enormous cargo door began to open and rapidly the hot air of the African continent invaded the compartment. The plane set down with a slight thud and Snake took the lead out. He walked across the platform into the sandy land. He raised his hand to his head to cover the sunlight and tried to discern anything on the landscape, but it was barren.

"Should we be wearing these overcoats?" Raiden quickly asked as he got beside Snake.

"It's rain season here. This is just a passing heat wave." Snake said reaching for his CODEC as soon as he heard the plane closing the door behind them. "I'll contact Otacon"

* * *

A transportation helicopter was arriving at what appeared to be a rundown town. Most of the street was littered with papers and dirt. The helicopter had no trouble in landing in the middle of the street. There were no cars around and no people. Otacon looked attentively out of the helicopter window as he cleaned his glasses before putting them on. Despite the hot air Otacon knew the heat wouldn't last. The rain would come and he was ready. Wearing a large white overcoat and blue gloves he was ready to take heavy rain if he couldn't help it. As he opened the door as the helicopter touched the ground and he saw in the distance a few people heading towards him. "You can go now!! I'll be fine." Otacon turned to say to the pilot as he noticed the blue helmets and vests on the people heading towards him. 

The pilot nodded, Otacon grabbed his briefcase and closed the helicopter door. As the helicopter lifted off Otacon heard a voice.

"Dr. Emmerich!" A woman's voice echoed from the half a dozen blue helmets heading towards Otacon.

"Yes." Otacon replied intrigued.

Suddenly a woman who was hidden behind a tall blue helmet came to the front and greeted Otacon.

"My name is Susanne Sonders. Nice to meet you." She raised her hand to greet him.

Otacon was flabbergasted for a moment. The woman in front of him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was slender, about his height and wore a beige suit with a black skirt. Her blonde hair made her deep blue eyes look even more beautiful.

"Hello." Otacon greeted her with a sweaty palm.

"I know this is a careful situation but I'm here to help." Susanne replied with an accent that Otacon hadn't noticed before, probably due to the helicopter noise.

"You're French?" Otacon regretted the question right away for fear she took it the wrong way.

Susanne smiled. "Half French, half British. Please let's get out of the street." She advised. Otacon followed Susanne and the blue helmets into a nearby building were he thought it was some kind of base of operations.

"Unfortunately due to your situation we have our security personnel keep a lookout on everything we do." Susanne said as she pulled up a chair for Otacon to sit down.

"That'll be quite alright thanks." Otacon said and without notice his CODEC turned on. "Otacon it's me." The voice was unmistakable.

"Snake!" Otacon said. "Nice timing, I've just arrived at the U.N. rendezvous point."

"Is that your operative?" Susanne asked with expressionless face.

Otacon nodded. "We're good to go then. I'll reach HQ after I set up everything here."

"Very well" Snake replied.

* * *

Snake looked at Raiden. "Very well." 

"If you need anything reach me on the CODEC. I'll begin working on linking you to HQ."

"Right…" Snake said looking into the distance towards the objective. "…Commencing Operation Black Demise."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

After the events of Washington D.C. something happened between retired FOXHOUND commander Colonel Campbell, Solid Snake, Otacon and Raiden something that had been kept hidden from the others. Philanthropy H.Q. was now a new and improved place. Everyone was carefully scrutinized by the Colonel. Being in the Army and learning a few things in the past he knew how to spot a traitor. This was the best work he had ever had since he left the FOXHOUND, but so far he hadn't accomplished anything. The situation room was occupied by Mei Ling, Dr. Naomi Hunter who were seated, and the Colonel himself who was standing up with his hands behind his back.

"I see you perfectly Otacon" Mei Ling said as she looked at him on the screen in the centre of the table.

"Good. Snake and Raiden are heading to the rendezvous point. ETA is five minutes" Said Otacon.

"Miss Sonders, is your man in place?" Said the Colonel jumping into the conversation.

Susanne Sonders appeared alongside Otacon and nodded. "Yes...He's awaiting the arrival of your men"

"Everything is going according to plan then." Said Mei Ling pushing several keys on the keyboard in front of her "The link is up now, we can contact directly with Snake and Raiden through the CODEC"

"Good. I want those vitals Naomi" Said the Colonel as he glanced over to Naomi. It's not that he didn't trust her. According to Snake she had saved his life in D.C. however Campbell felt that something had been kept hidden from him. Like she and Snake had experienced something life changing all those months ago.

"I'm receiving them now" Said Naomi, promptly taking her index finger to the screen and watching several numbers and wavy lines that had just appeared. "Everything seems to be in order"

"Let's make contact" The Colonel said whilst sitting down.

* * *

Both Snake and Raiden felt the increasing heat to become more unbearable. However their overcoats had to stay on.

"I thought you said this was just a passing heat wave…" Raiden said as he passed his gloved hand by his forehead and looked at it, it was wet. "I'm sweating"

"Get used to it, even if the rain comes it won't be much…look we're getting there." Snake looked attentively to what looked like several mud houses scattered throughout the area.

"There!" Raiden pointed to a nearby house with a red cross on the opened door.

"Right, let's go" Both reached under their overcoats and pulled out their handguns, two silenced equipped SOCOM's. A ringing sound on Snake's and Raiden's ear announced an incoming transmission on the CODEC.

"Snake, Raiden can you both hear me?" The Colonel's voice was sharp and clean.

"Colonel, we're nearing the house." As Snake said this they were indeed in the doorstep. Raiden took a side and Snake the other.

"I'm not armed" A quiet voice came from within.

Snake pulled away from the doorway and pointed his gun inside. A man was inside standing bare-chested and with his hands held high. The room had large wooden table on the center with old rags on top. On the back stood three very old files cabinets and a small window to the right let the sunlight in.

"Are you Robinson?" Snake asked as Raiden took the rear.

"Yes" A man wearing only a pair of long brown shorts and sandals spoke out. He seemed rather old because of his white hair and beard but his voice was crisp and clean with a British accent.

"Can I put my hands down now?" Robinson asked

"Sure" Snake placed his gun back into his equipment and so did Raiden, but not before whispering something into Snake's ear.

"I'll keep my eye on him…"

"Wait a second while I talk with my…people." Snake took his hand to his ear and headed out of hearing range of Robinson.

"We got him…he looks legit Colonel"

"Good. Hear what he has to say and then move on" The Colonel was being methodical. This mission couldn't afford to go wrong.

Snake turned off his CODEC and addressed Robinson. "What do you have for us?"

"This information was not easy to come by. But from what I heard you don't have a lot of time. What's your outfit anyway?" Robinson asked.

"We're..." Raiden began answering but Snake was quick to interrupt.

"Just tell us what you know"

"All right, but you're not going to like it. I reported this to the U.N. but they decided to advance with the operation anyway" Robinson said sighing.

"What is it?" Snake asked, sounding a bit impatient.

"I came here about three days ago looking for any shred of evidence that might support the theory that a special Unit created by the United States existed"

"The Black Unit" Raiden said.

"Exactly, it was a tip from one of your own."

Otacon. Snake and Raiden thought the same thing.

"His information led me here. Unfortunately what I found is worse than just a small highly trained unit, in fact I have no idea if they are really here"

"What do you know, exactly?" Snake said emphasizing the last word.

"This region has been called the Black Territory for about seven years now, but according to villagers the forces here have been on the payroll of the United States for more or less twenty years.

"Twenty years servicing the U.S." Raiden was surprised. "How can that be?"

"More important what do you mean by 'the forces here'?" Snake asked.

Robinson walked by to the door and leaned on the entrance. He then took out a smoke from his shorts and lit it up with a Zippo lighter. "Great American invention this was."

Snake and Raiden grunted, Robinson was wasting their time.

"About the forces, again for about seven years now they are called the Black Army, no one knows the numbers or where they come from but I can assure you they exist"

"Army!!?" Snake replied.

Robinson reached inside his shorts again and took a single photograph. "Here" He handed it to Snake.

It was a black and white photo of what looked like a helicopter with several armed men around it.

"One of the villagers gave it to one of my contacts, I'm sorry about the quality, but that's the best we can do in the poorest nation in the world." Robinson talked with his smoke hanging from his mouth. "This country is a haven for those that don't want to be found, it's very much possible that the Black Unit works from here with the help of their army! They definitely have the resources."

"A UH-1 helicopter and an entire army, this is bad." Snake realized that the operation had just turned for the worse.

"But didn't anyone know about this army?" Raiden asked incredulous that such a thing could be hidden.

"Chad is a big country and it has been plagued with civil wars since I came here, it's easier to look away, add that the fact that the U.S. doesn't what anyone to know that they have a secret military force in a foreign country and the tension that exists in the middle east, you would have to look very hard to find it." Robinson threw his smoke away and headed inside. "That's all from me, the village where that picture came from no longer exists but there's a settlement a few miles east from here"

"Thanks" Snake said while he got out of range and reached for his CODEC.

Raiden stood with Robinson as he continued. "After the settlement I was told that there are railway tracks that lead to what you're looking for but I'm not sure you should believe it. This is Chad and in Chad railways are scarce" Robinson reached for the old rags on the top of the table. They were in fact a tee shirt and a hat. "By the way did you hear about that kidnapping, I heard something about it on the satellite phone…?" Robinson took out a small satellite phone rolled up on the rags.

"I don't know what…"

"Shhh, did you hear that?" Robinson put on his tee-shirt and old hat and suddenly turned to the wooded window to the side. He peered through a small hole in the wood and saw what looked like a car.

"What is it?" Raiden asked as he had heard something too.

Robinson turned to him. "I thought I saw a shadow…something that looked like…"

The conversation ended abruptly as Raiden saw Robinson's lips moving but he could not hear anything. The sound of gunfire muffled everything else.

* * *

"Dr. Emmerich, Snake and Raiden have rendezvous with the contact. Thank you for the linkup, any further communications will be made by CODEC" Otacon heard Campbell's voice through his own CODEC.

"Yes, sir" He replied.

"So is everything in order?" Susanne asked and sat down beside Otacon.

"Yes, they found your man" Otacon replied as he tried to avoid her look, he was afraid he would stare at her.

"Was he in the right place? He tends to be a little…well you know" Susanne asked with a mellow tone. Otacon wondered if her professionalism would stop her to have any kind of relationship.

"No, he was in right place, just a few miles west from the Chaktar province." Otacon answered this time turning his head away from the computer monitor and looking at Susanne in the eyes.

Susanne smiled and Otacon smiled back. "Good." She replied. "Well if everything's alright I wonder if you could excuse me. I need to use…how you say…the girl's room." Susanne said wondering if Otacon would perceive it as a flirt.

"Of course…" Otacon replied.

Susanne got up and headed to the left side of the room where a brown wood door stood.

_I wonder if she…_Otacon's chain of thought was interrupted by the CODEC.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Yeah?" Otacon replied on the CODEC.

"It's me. You better notify the guys back home that there's a probability we'll encounter resistance." Snake said quickly.

"Resistance?" Otacon replied.

"Yeah, something called the Black Army, an army gathered by the Black Unit, the info is sketchy, but reliable" Snake looked at his side and saw Robinson staring out the window.

Otacon sighed. "More problems for us…"

"Us? Don't you mean me and Raiden…" Without warning bullet holes began appearing on the side wall throwing Robinson dead to the floor. Raiden ducked right away and so did Snake. The bullets kept coming ripping holes through the mud walls

"What the hell!!?" Snake shouted. "Raiden!" He then pointed to the three old file cabinets in the back of the small house.

"Snake! What's happening" Otacon shouted on Snake's ear, but he could only hear gunshots.

Snake and Raiden got between the file cabinets giving them a slight protection. Now that Snake could think for a second he thought of a way out of there.

"What now!?" Raiden asked feeling an urge to reach for his back. Snake saw it and knew that he was probably right.

"There's no point in hiding anymore" Snake grabbed his overcoat and threw it to the side. Raiden followed. "We'll wait for the gun to stop firing!" He said to Snake.

Snake was wearing a dark blue new sneaking suit that only left his head uncovered. His silenced SOCOM was strapped on the right side of his waist and a small pouch was on the other, he also had a knife strapped to his back. Also on his back was a M4 Light Machine Gun, with a suppressor.

Raiden had the same type of suit but with slightly different details. Snake had several spare clips strapped on his chest. Raiden however had a SOCOM strapped on the left side of his chest and three spare clips on the right side. On his back were an M4 with a suppressor and his more than familiar High Frequency Blade with a dark grey case. Strapped to both his legs were 4 extra clips, two on each leg, for the M4 and like Snake he too had a small pouch on the left side of his waist. There was no necessity to search for enemy weapons, not on this mission. It became even clearer to both, as Snake and Raiden reached for their M4's that this mission could only end when the members of the Black Unit were dead.

Otacon only heard gunfire coming from the CODEC. "Snake!!" He shouted while Susanne got by his side.

"What happened?" She asked quickly getting a chair and sitting beside Otacon.

"Gunfire…maybe they were found out" Otacon replied while pushing keys on the keyboard in front of him. "I'm getting through to HQ"

* * *

The situation room had been kept silent for the last few minutes. The Colonel left, leaving Mei Ling and Naomi alone, and had gone to his office. There he found his niece, acting a bit different, she was sitting polishing her gun for almost half an hour. 

"Meryl" The Colonel said closing the door of his office behind him. "Do you have something to discuss with me?" He asked.

Meryl looked away from her gun and looked at Campbell, her uncle. "I…I'm not sure what I'm doing" She said.

"What do you mean?" Campbell asked while taking a seat on behind his dark wood desk.

"I don't know if this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Philanthropy I mean…" She sighed.

"You want to leave?" He interrogated.

"I'm not sure…I just feel I could do so much more…"

Suddenly the office door opened up and on the doorway stood a beautiful blonde woman. She was wearing a suit, with a light blue jacket and black trousers. "I'm sorry…I thought you were alone."

"It's fine." Campbell replied.

"Rose" Meryl got up from the chair she was in. "Nice to see you…I was just leaving" She left the office at a fast pace, while Rose kept her eyes on her as she left worried that she might have been the cause for her sudden withdraw.

"Don't worry about her Rose" Campbell got up from his chair and headed near her. "I'm glad you came"

"Thank you Colonel, but I just came because of Jack" She replied.

"Of course. Come let's go" Campbell headed out of the office and Rose followed him.

"Where are they now?" Rose asked.

"They were meeting a contact. Hopefully things will get easier with his information" After a short walk Campbell opened the door that led to the situation room and to his surprise he saw it in an uproar. "What's happening?" He rushed over through another set of doors and spoke to Mei Ling and Naomi who were both standing up. Meryl kept asking questions to a computer screen on the main table.

"They were ambushed!" Mei Ling quickly said.

"What!?" Campbell and Rose reacted the same way.

"Where's Jack?" Rose quickly asked.

"Wait a sec.!" Meryl replied raising her voice. "Otacon's saying they are being attacked by Black Unit forces…an army!!" Her expression was of anxiety.

"An army…there!" Campbell said as he rushed near Meryl and saw Otacon's face on the computer monitor. "What army Dr. Emmerich?"

"Snake said something about the Black Unit having its own army but…wait…" Otacon took his hand to his ear and suddenly his eyes opened wide.

"Dr. Emmerich…what happened? Dr. Emmerich…." Campbell almost shouted at the computer screen.

On the other side Otacon was staring at the Colonel and Meryl's face. Susanne was by his side asking what had happened. Otacon opened his mouth. "I heard shouts and then a explosion. The transmission was cut off" He spoke slowly and not very loud but everyone in the situation room heard him.

"What!" Rose said with teary eyes." She immediately collapsed into a nearby chair.

"Wait" Naomi's voice was heard across the awkward silence. "They are still alive…their vitals are off the charts but they are still alive"

* * *

The gunfire didn't stop, in fact it even increased and the mud walls were beginning to look like a cheese grater. Between the file cabinets Snake and Raiden were getting frustrated. Otacon was talking on the CODEC but the noise of the fire made the conversation impossible. 

"Dammit…" Snake cursed. "Raiden!" He shouted and Raiden turned to him. "…see if you can see where they are, I'll try and get closer to one of the holes. Maybe I'll be able to take some out." Snake reached with one hand to the bottom of the file cabinet and the other to the top and carefully lifted it up a few inches from the ground. He saw bullets hitting the floor and heard several others hitting the file cabinet.

Raiden did as ordered and peeked through one of the holes and saw several armed men wearing what looked liked state of the art military gear. A group of five was right in front of the mud house they were in. "Five targets right on your path Snake!" Raiden shouted.

Snake had reached one of the holes big enough to put his M4 through. "If I miss, guide me, got it?" Snake raised his voice through the noise.

Raiden nodded and without wait Snake began firing. The first few rounds missed the target entirely, but Raiden was quick to point it out. "A little to the left" He said. Snake complied and suddenly five men were dead on the floor. "You got them. That was great Snake." The incoming fire stopped suddenly.

"Now we need to find a safe way out" Snake said taking his M4 from the hole. "Otacon are you there?"

However a loud bang noise heard in the distance made Snake ignore everything else. He looked at Raiden and saw him with the same puzzled look. A microsecond later it came to him. _That noise._ "Raiden, move!!! NOW!!!" They got up and sped off the house's door like death was on their tail, it wasn't far off tough. A massive explosion erupted behind them launching them to the sand and blowing the mud house to pieces.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"They're still alive!" Rose wiped the tears off her face and looked at Naomi. She wanted to hear it again, to make sure it was true.

"No doubt, their vitals are still strong" Naomi replied.

"Alright everybody let's calm down" Campbell spoke and placed his hand over Meryl's shoulder. She looked at him and felt a little reassured.

"Dr. Emmerich?"

"Yes Colonel?" Otacon replied from the other side of the screen.

"Stay online in case Snake or Raiden contact you"

Otacon nodded and looked to his side. "They are still alive" He spoke to Susanne and even tough this was stressful time when he spoke to her he felt a tingling over his entire body.

"That's good, for a minute there I thought they were gone. But if there's an army waiting for them shouldn't they retreat?" She asked with an innocent look in her eyes.

"Well, it's unexpected but…I don't think Snake's going to quit" Otacon replied.

"I've heard a lot of things about Solid Snake" Susanne said.

"Only the bad I bet" Otacon replied back. "He's a great guy, once you get to know him"

"Are you the same way?" Susanne asked.

"Huh!!" Otacon looked into Susanne who had gotten a little closer to him. "Wha…"

"I heard a lot of things about you too…" Susanne was getting close to Otacon. He's kind of cute. She thought.

"Really? That's…that's nice" Otacon jerked his glasses and looked deep into Susanne's eyes. She's really beautiful.

Susanne smiled as she noticed Otacon was staring at her.

* * *

The dust wasn't setting anytime soon. The explosion was enormous but Snake and Raiden had escaped unharmed. Both were several feet away from where the house once stood.

A coughing Raiden stood up and looked around. It was like a sandstorm. "Snake?" He could hear several voices yelling and talking but none was Snake. "Snake!!?"

A palm of a hand touched Raiden on the right shoulder. "Keep it down" Snake was also coughing but he looked alright. Both their suits were now of a shade of grey, because of all the dirt, but they still had their guns in their hands. "We got a little time, here this way" Snake headed to the right through the dust.

After a few seconds they reached another small mud house which was impossible to see until they were just a few feet from it.

"I heard them talking French and an Arabic dialect, they seem to know we were here" Snake said circling around the house away from the enemy.

"But how? "Raiden quickly asked.

"No idea, but before we answer that question we've got to get out of here. Robinson said there was a settlement to the east, right?" Snake reached a corner of the house and peeked out.

"Yeah" Raiden said as he wondered what Snake was thinking to get out of the situation. "What do we do?"

"Catch a ride of course" Snake turned to Raiden. "Take a look"

Raiden peeked around the corner but didn't see anything. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"You can only make out the silhouette, but it's there" Snake replied.

Raiden took another closer look and saw something in the distance, through the sand, it looked like a jeep.

"We still have the tank to worry about though" Snake said.

"Tank? Of course, that's what blew up the house" Said Raiden realizing Snake figured that the noise before the explosion came from a tank.

"An M1, I've never going to forget the sound of that thing." Snake had gone one on one with an Abrams M1 tank before. "Are you ready to run?"

Raiden nodded.

"Good, I'll do the driving and you take care of anyone who gets close" Snake said getting ready to run. "Shoot at anything that moves, because they won't give us a chance" A few seconds passed by before Snake and Raiden lunged forwards and began running towards the jeep. As they ran their eyes turned left and right trying to locate any enemy but the dust of cloud was still big enough to hide them and their enemies. The jeep was coming closer and so was an armed man on the other side of the jeep, probably guarding it. It was like basic instinct for Snake as he raised his gun, stopped and without hesitation shot the armed man, once on the heart and another on the head. Raiden continued running even after Snake stopped. These were two professional cold hearted assassins with a highly dangerous mission to accomplish. Nothing or anyone could stop them now. Raiden jumped onto the jeep and immediately noticed there was a M240 machine gun mounted on the back of the jeep. He quickly placed his M4 on his back and manned the jeep gun. Snake followed close behind and got into the driver's seat. The keys were in the ignition.

"It's clearing up!" Raiden said as he noticed a shadow coming right in front of him near the backside of the jeep.

"I see it" Snake said as he turned the keys and saw several men in front of the jeep and a few feet away about a dozen more men around two other jeeps and something else. The tank.

"Arrêt!!" The man Raiden had in his crosshairs was shouting.

"Take him down!" Snake shouted.

Shots broke out and the man fell to the sand, the dust had cleared and as the jeep sped off a new fight was about to begin.

* * *

It had never happened before, Tiger was wide awake and yet something forced its way into his mind. Before he got to the computer room door he day dreamed. The dream however made no sense, a barren deserted white room, with no horizon. A small snake slithered through the ground and then a howl, similar to a cat and then Tiger's eyes opened up. He was just outside the door to the computer room. _What the hell was that, I never dreamed wide awake before…what's happening to me? _Tiger took a deep breath and decided to get inside.

"Ah, Tiger, I've got bad news…" Phantom said turning the chair he was sitting on to Tiger.

"You couldn't get in?" Black Tiger asked with a puzzled face.

"I'm sorry, no" Phantom replied looking a bit perplexed.

"Why?" He asked getting closer to Phantom.

"Protection, he's got loads of them. Too many if you ask me?" Phantom replied. "Besides, hacking is just a hobby of mine, this is beyond me"

Tiger sighed. "I need to be sure…"

Suddenly a voice came from the door, a voice behind Tiger. "Sure of what." The roughness made it clear to Tiger who it was.

"Sure…of everything…" Tiger replied and turned around. "…Ocelot."

Revolver Ocelot was staring straight into his eyes. "Good, overconfidence often leads to disaster, but do you suspect someone?"

Tiger sighed again. "No one. But there's something..."

"Another one of your dreams?" Ocelot asked.

Tiger smiled. "Maybe. Now, do you need something or did you just come here to pass time?"

"I've come to check up on things. How are they doing?" Ocelot circled around Tiger and made its way into the room as if he owned the place.

"The last report we got gave us their position, I've sent men to intercept them" Tiger replied.

"Anyone of the Unit? Or just the usual grunts?" Ocelot asked with a smile on his face.

"They aren't grunts" Tiger said wondering what could make Ocelot smile at a troubled time like this. "Why?"

"You know who it is they are facing don't you?" The question sent Tiger into the past, all those months ago when he met the man that had crippled him for life.

"My men can get the job done. Even if he is Salil's brother" Tiger replied thinking if the dream he had just had had something to do with Solid Snake.

Ocelot grunted. "You don't actually believe that do you? Your men are already dead"

Both stared each other in the eyes, it was like a silent battle. One in which there was no clear winner.

"Sir, the preparations are almost complete" Phantom said to Ocelot breaking his and Tiger's deadlock.

"Good." Ocelot looked away from Tiger's eyes. "This plan of yours may have a chance after all..." Ocelot headed for the exit.

Tiger sighed. "They trusted us so much. How can they think we would such a thing?" His questions were directed to Ocelot.

"Trust? You think they trusted you?" Ocelot answered before leaving. "No. They trust no one, they only use people. Remember that" That said he left the room and closed the door behind him. A small smile passed through his face.

"You should be more careful Tiger" Phantom said as his breathing seemed heavier because of the encounter with Ocelot.

"I don't fear him. He may have been there for us when we needed, but…" Tiger replied. "If I find he's been hiding something from us I… " Tiger reached for his hand, the one that he had lost.

"Is everything alright Tiger, you seem far away" Phantom said wondering what it all meant.

"I'm fine" Tiger looked at Phantom and then retreated from the room. Outside he reached for his communicator. "Marsh, are you there?"

"I was about to call you" Marsh replied.

"About?"

"Bad news"

From Marsh's tone of voice Tiger immediately knew what had transpired. "Damn!!" Tiger cursed under his breath.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The shots came from everywhere ripping holes on the jeep. "We may have more on our plate than we can we chew don't you think Snake?" Raiden sounded off through the blazing noise on his gun.

"We have no choice here" Snake was driving like a manic weaving a path through the several mud houses looking for an opening while Raiden kept the rear safe from bullets.

"Crap!" Suddenly Snake spotted it. Alongside of them, but still far, were the tank and two other jeeps. "We're being followed. There's no way we can make it alive to the village like this."

"So what do we do?" Raiden asked.

Snake looked around the jeep and saw only three grenades by the passenger's seat and at this speed they were useless. "I don't know…" Snake said and right away he was interrupted by a loud bang. Snake whipped his head around and saw smoke coming from the tank barrel, a microsecond later an explosion blew up a house they were just passing by. Snake turned the steering wheel and avoided the rubble.

"That was close!" Raiden shouted.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Snake spoke in a calm sarcastic tone.

"Snake, we got a tail" Raiden began firing without a quiver. The other two jeeps were gaining terrain and were now getting dangerously close to Snake and Raiden's vehicle.

Bullets started to wheeze by their heads.

"I'm getting close to empty here!" Raiden pointed out as he saw the end of bullet belt.

Snake took a deep breath and thought for a second. He looked to the left and saw the tank speeding behind to the left side and then he then looked to the right to the passenger seat and to the idle grenades sitting on it.

"I've got an idea" Snake said.

"I'm all ears" Raiden replied as the last couple of rounds sent one of the enemy jeeps to a full stop.

"We'll drive straight into the tank…"

"What??" Raiden interrupted even before Snake finished his thought. "I don't think I like this plan"

"Trust me"

Raiden took the passenger's seat. "Are you sure about this?" He got ready to reach for his M4 but Snake stopped him. "Forget about the jeep tailing us" As soon as he said it a bullet shattered the front glass.

"It's kind of hard!" Raiden pointed out.

"Just do as I say. Find something to get those grenades together. When I say 'now' you throw them, but they need to explode as soon as they reach the ground, so you'll have to shoot them out."

"Snake!" Another bullet hit the front window, shattering the glass even more. "What are you thinking?"

Snake was ignoring Raiden now. He was concentrated on the path to take. _After that house.__If it's been following us…probably hundred feet.__ It's going to work. _With resolute will Snake turned the wheel and pressed towards a nearby house. "Get ready to throw them at that house."

"What the…" Raiden, still unsure of Snake's plan, complied. He took out his SOCOM and used an old rag that was lying on the floor by the passenger's seat to hold the grenades together. The jeep behind them kept firing but neither Snake nor Raiden made any case of it. The huge machine gun on the back of their jeep gave them some cover. As soon as they were close to the house Snake shouted. "NOW!"

Raiden pulled the pins on the grenades and threw them as hard as he could towards the house. He quickly reached for his gun and took aim. _We're moving too fast! _The shot was very hard to make, practically impossible, but somehow Raiden had faith that the plan could work. For a split moment, in an immeasurable frame of time Raiden saw the grenades in its gun crosshairs and fired.

* * *

A large roof was where a tall man stood looking down at a near parked black van. The man was covered with army gear from head to toe. His face was covered with a grey balaclava and he had dark glasses over his eyes. Suddenly his radio crackled. _Could this finally be it? _He thought. _Could this be the time? I'm tired of waiting for him. _"This is Colonel Velkan. What is it, another setback?"

"Nothing like that" The voice on the other side belonged to none other than Revolver Ocelot.

"Good. I wanted to ask you something. We've been holding this operation since you dropped the ball months ago and just a week ago all of a sudden you get the intel." Velkan replied with a deep guttural voice.

"Are you implying something Velkan?"

"I'm pretty sure you knew them quite well and yet you didn't saw what they were doing? And now you need…"

"Shut it!! Need I remind you that for now you are under my orders?" Ocelot snapped back.

"…"

"I gather from your silence that you understand. Good. It's time to advance with the operation"

"Why now?" Velkan asked.

Ocelot laughed. "Let's just say it's convenient. Begin at once"

"Alright, we should be there in an hour or so"

"Contact me when you get there" Ocelot replied and turned off the radio.

Velkan placed his radio on his waist and then signaled the van below by waving his right arm. The van quickly started up and sped off. Velkan then turned to the helicopter behind him. "Get the bird on the air, we're moving." He then reached for his cane, of all steel and all black, and proceeded inside the helicopter.

* * *

The dust that had been lifted from blowing a nearby fragile house to bits and pieces covered everything. The two men inside the M1 tank came to a complete halt after the explosion. The last time they had seen the jeep it was a few feet before the house but now it was impossible to even discern where the house once stood. Both men were dressed with desert camouflage clothes and had goggles over their eyes.

One turned to the other "Mais…où…"

Suddenly a large thud was heard over their heads and gunfire a few feet away to the side.

"Je …" Before the man could finish his sentence a large splitting sound echoed inside the tank making the other man flinch.

"MON DIEU!!" He said taken aback by what had happened. A large blade had cut through the tank's heavy armor and struck the top of the other man's head, killing him instantly.

Panic took over him and he hurried out of the tank, he pushed the door up and saw the terrible fate that awaited him.

Raiden was standing directly in front of the sun, the dark blue suit appeared as black as night to the terrified man. He didn't move, maybe he hoped the creature in front of him would not attack. The noise of a jeep pulling in beside the tank made is head turn. It was another man in a dark suit with a bandana on his head, several feet away was a silent jeep with two dead bodies inside. _"How can these two men do such a thing?" _The man thought to himself.

"We need to get moving. We're sitting ducks out here" Snake said to Raiden.

"Right, well sweet dreams" With a swift trust of his sword he hit the man square in his head with the High Frequency Blade's handle. He then placed the blade on its case and jumped to the jeep. "So now what, our plan just went down the toilet."

"We'll have to think of something, first I'll reach Otacon"

* * *

Otacon and Susanne had been trying to sweep any frequency they could in order to reach Snake, but they obtained no response.

"What happened to them? It's not like them to take this long to communicate." Otacon sounded has worried as he looked. Fortunately for him Susanne was right by his side and it felt a little better.

"Don't worry Hal, according to your doctor they're fine. You just have to wait" Susanne said.

The mention of his first name alone instead of the formal "Dr. Emmerich almost made Otacon blush.

Suddenly Otacon's CODEC crackled. "Otacon you there it's Snake"

"Snake are you ok? I've been trying to contact you and Raiden…"

"We've been busy, anyway we got major problems and the night incursion is a no go anymore, they know we're here…"

"Hold on Snake, I'm going to put you through to HQ"

* * *

Everyone one was a bit tense inside the situation room at HQ, Rose was sitting down drinking a glass of water while she waited for news. Naomi was still watching Snake and Raiden's vitals, Mei Ling, Meryl and the Colonel were just waiting.

"We can't just sit here! I feel so helpless" Meryl broke the silence.

"Meryl!" The Colonel replied whilst he got up from his chair. "Calm down, they are fine, you of all people should know that"

She sighed and then looked at everyone at the room. "I'm going to train for a bit" Meryl got up from her chair and started to head out of the room, but before she could Otacon's face appeared on the computer screens on the big table. "Mei do you read me?"

"Mei quickly sat up straight on her chair, placed her headset on her head and responded. "Yes. Any news?"

"Snake is on the CODEC." Rose diverted her eyes from her plastic glass of water and looked at Otacon's face on the monitors.

"I'll patch him through…" Otacon said. "…go ahead Snake"

"Colonel, are you there?" Snake's voice was clear.

"Jack, is Jack okay?" Rose said instinctively.

"He's fine. I'll put him on the line"

"Rose!! What are you doing there?"

"I brought her here Raiden, but first things first. What happened?" The Colonel replied.

"The operation has suffered a considerable setback, our contact on the scene was killed and we barely got away." Snake said.

"Did you engage the enemy?" Campbell asked.

"We had no choice."

Campbell gave a dire sigh. "Damn! This whole thing has gotten away from us, the contact gets killed and now our only, already fragile plan gets shot down."

"What's happening?" Rose asked completely taken aback by what the Colonel was saying. "Minutes ago you were saying everything was fine and now this?"

"Rose…" Raiden heard Rose more worried than ever.

"Mei, if you could. Summarize everything for Rose" Campbell said and sat back down on his chair.

"Very well sir, I'll be swift" Mei replied.

Rose placed her cup on the table and listened carefully.

"This entire operation is not supported by the US, and we're on a deadline by the UN. We need to find the people responsible for the explosions six months ago and we know they are in Chad. We have no satellite support whatsoever and we only got limited aid by the UN, a man familiarized with the region in Chad, where we think the enemy is, would help us with the location of the enemy while Dr. Emmerich would provide aid remotely with the assistance of small UN team. Upon several simulation scenarios we devised a plan, we had to go in and apprehend or kill the enemy by night and we had timed the operation so when Snake and Raiden got there they would have ample time to ready the operation for the following night. But they knowing about us and the fact that they have an entire army at their disposal are news to us."

Rose was at the verge of tears, the situation sounded desperate and now she knew why Jack had behaved so differently the last few weeks. _Why didn't you tell me Jack?_

"This entire operation was destined to failure, but I'm pulling the plug right now, we're bringing everyone home and deal with the consequences later" Campbell was looking at Rose and noticing her watery eyes. "This ends now!"

* * *

Tiger was rubbing his forehead, while Marsh talked about the men that were going to intercept the intruders had broken contact.

"Ocelot was right. They must be all dead…" Tiger sighed. "Very well."

"What are you going to do?" Marsh asked, but Tiger turned off the radio.

Shadow began speaking. "If Ocelot was right then…"

"No, keep working on it, I'll be back. I have to contact someone, someone at the frontline." Tiger exited the room. Outside he reached for something inside his ear. It was a state of the art communication device made by Black Phantom called the VOXER or Voice Crosser. It was similar to other small modern inner ear communication devices, but the VOXER was able to output true surround sound using the person's own nanomachines. "Garand, are you ready?" Tiger said.

* * *

A large village comprised of several small houses and a few two floor buildings was the playground of one of the members of the Black Unit. Black Garand was his name. He was looking into the horizon from the top of one of the buildings. He wore a large desert camouflage suit and a brown cowboy hat. A brown overcoat was over his shoulder and he had a round shaped object hanging from his belt where there were also several weird ammo magazines. "Garand, are you ready?" Garand's VOXER came to life.

"Ready. The traps are laid. Somehow I feel happy that he got past the men."

"There are two of them." Tiger replied.

"Twice the fun then…" Garand smiled.

"Be careful, if it's him then it won't be easy."

"Don't worry, they are coming into my world now…see ya Tiger." Garand signed off and smiled even more. He then reached for something that was resting on the ledge of the building. It was a Garand rifle equipped with a sniper scope. He looked through it and felt calm. The battle was coming to him.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"No!" Snake said upon hearing what the Colonel had said. He was driving across the desert quite fast. The direction was the one Robinson had told them about. Snake had taken a compass from the small pouch on the left said of his waist and had placed it on top of the jeep's dashboard alongside the broken shards of glass.

"We're not leaving, not yet, I have to do this. We have to do this." Snake took his eyes of the road and looked at Raiden for a second. "It's the only way to take away the blame from Philanthropy"

"Snake remember what we talked about before" Said the Colonel. "…it doesn't matter, not anymore"

"Damn!" Snake stopped the jeep. "Colonel I know it must feel like we're just puppets in some crazy show, but right now I'm deciding for myself. I'll find the Black Unit and I'll do this. Do you hear me Roy! I have to." Snake waited for a response.

* * *

Over at HQ Roy Campbell sighed heavily. "Very well, my friend. We're going on with the operation. How far are you from the destination?

"The info we got from Robinson was that there was an abandoned railway station a few miles past a settlement, and that the rails headed into the heart of the Aswad territory." Raiden replied.

"Alright as soon as you're close to the station coordinate with Otacon and Mei to see if the info matches our own" Campbell replied feeling a bit more relieved. "Now I think it's time Raiden talked with Rose. I'll be in my office" Campbell began to move away from the large table.

Meryl was still standing by the door and saw her uncle coming closer. "I want to tell you something." Campbell spoke in a low tone. "I've known Snake for quite some time and this time he's not fighting for something he believes in, none of us are. Right now he's fighting for all our lives including yours" Their eyes met. Meryl was trying to grasp everything that her uncle had told her, what it all meant, but as the Colonel left the room Meryl followed behind, another question was on her mind. "Back there, what was all that about a talk you had with Snake? What did you mean when you said it doesn't matter?" Meryl stared at his uncle back.

"It's…it's complicated. I'll tell you when the time is right." He replied and moved away, leaving Meryl alone with her thoughts. What could her uncle be hiding from her and more importantly how was Snake feeling after the words she and him exchanged after he had woken up? She looked at the situation room through the transparent doors and saw Rose exchanging words with the person she loved. _How can she…? No I'm not like her…_She then headed out of the situation room

* * *

"Rose!" Raiden said as he soon as he heard her voice clear on the CODEC.

Snake had disconnected his CODEC and resumed driving. They were on what appeared to be a dirt road.

"I was called by the Colonel, he seemed to think you might need to hear my voice" Rose said on the other side of the line.

Raiden grunted. "He was right, but what about…"

"They're fine, the Colonel arranged everything…I miss you" Rose said with a slightly worried tone.

"Don't worry. I'll be back in no time" Raiden said trying to appease her.

"I feel so helpless…since Washington I haven't done any proper work and there you are trying to find a way to save everyone, it's frustrating…" Rose sighed.

"Rose" Raiden was at a loss for words. "I…I don't know what to say, I had no idea…is it my fault? I'm sorry Rose…"

"No it's not your fault Jack. I should have taken the initiative, without you here these things became more apparent to me..." Rose said a bit more calm.

"I'll be by your side in whatever you decide to do okay?" Raiden asked as he took out the same picture he had been looking to at the airplane.

Snake glanced for a second at the picture the same way had done so on the plane, the thought of him and Meryl crossed his mind, but their relationship could never be like the one Raiden and Rose had, not now.

* * *

"Okay" Rose giggled and said goodbye. Mei Ling came on the line. "Well that's everything for now. If anything comes up I'll call you. And by the way tell S..na…ke tha…t Ota…con…" before Mei Ling could finish the sentence Raiden heard weird static noises over the CODEC.

"Mei could you repeat that?" Raiden said whilst Snake touched his shoulder and pointed to the front of the jeep, the settlement was coming into view.

On the CODEC, Mei Ling's voice was getting more and more unclear. "I…said…Ota….for…UN…"

"Mei!!?" Raiden lowered his head and took his hand to his ear to try and listen more carefully. As he did a large tearing pain appeared on the left side of his head. Then a gunshot was heard.

"Okay" Rose giggled and said goodbye to Raiden, she took off the headset and placed it on the table.

"I'm going to get some coffee, you want some?" Naomi had placed her hand on Rose's shoulder.

"Sure" Rose replied with a nod. "I'll accompany you. I need to stretch my legs"

Mei Ling was left alone on the situation room. As she spoke to Raiden she could see Otacon on the monitor and a woman behind him, she was talking to a blue helmet and she had her back to Otacon, Mei then noticed that Otacon was looking at her backside.

"…anything comes up I'll call you. And by the way tell Snake that Otacon has a new girlfriend."

"Mei could you repeat that?" Raiden said on the other side of the line.

"I said Otacon has the hots for the UN lady he is with." Unexpectedly every monitor went down and then all the lights. The situation room was dark. "What the!!" Mei said.

Little did she know that at that moment unwelcome visitors had arrived at Philanthropy Head Quarters.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Sir we've disconnected the main power they should be with the lights out by now! Over" Said a voice on the radio that Velkan was holding with his right hand.

"Good" Velkan replied. "Start sending you men inside Major then activate the elevator so I can go down, over"

"Acknowledged sir, over and out"

Velkan grinned. "This is going beautifully!" Velkan spoke to the one soldier beside him. Only him and Velkan were occupying the massive cargo hold of the helicopter. "Land on the roof now!" Velkan ordered the pilot.

* * *

What had happened, after the events of Washington D.C., between Colonel Campbell, Solid Snake and Otacon had made possible the existence of a new Philanthropy. What led to this came a few hours after Snake's and Liquid's confrontation in Washington. After the Sikorsky landed, several miles away from D.C. Colonel Campbell was waiting on the ground and he quickly pushed Snake and Otacon to the sidelines to talk. The worry on Campbell's mind came when Meryl told him that Snake and Otacon worked at the same organization that he and her niece had key positions and yet they had never heard of them.

"It's been a while Colonel" Snake said. "Where have you been for the past years?"

"Snake! I…" Campbell sounded anxious. "Before we talk about anything else I need to ask you…are you really affiliated with Philanthropy?" The Colonel asked.

"Yes! And Meryl told me that she and you work there too"

"And we never got an explanation out of her" Replied Otacon.

"Then it's far worse than I thought! Well at least Philanthropy exists!" The Colonel said.

"Of course it exists, I and Snake founded it"

"What? Meryl didn't tell me that" The Colonel forced a grin at Snake. "You? Actually fighting for something…you've changed"

"What are you getting at Colonel?" Snake said as he tried to speak as best as he could, the wounds he had sustained were still painful.

"I've never heard of you founding anything, in fact since I worked at Philanthropy I only heard about you and Otacon when you were accused of sinking a tanker of the shore of Manhattan"

"What's going on around here!!?" Snake asked, as the situation got stranger.

"I'm afraid I know the answer. I joined Philanthropy with Meryl, but right from the beginning I noticed that we never went through the proper channels. We were working on the marginal side, not once did I see the organization give satisfaction to the U.N. For years Meryl and I did nothing but investigate reports of Metal Gear units around the world, but they never amounted to anything and those who did never came through my office door, after a while more and more operations about Metal Gear sightings and nuclear awareness slipped through my fingers. I had no connections inside and everyone seemed to be out of a bigger loop. One that I suspected for a while but only found hard evidence about a year ago. The Patriots were behind it!"

Snake grunted. "We never actually talked about the Patriots before Colonel. But I'm not surprised you know about them."

"Indeed. I knew of their existence and I accepted it, but I was lied to and kept in the dark for too long. The tip came from a great friend of mine Captain Jean Gibson, he told me that the 'real' Philanthropy was not the one where I worked. At first I doubted him, but I soon found myself investigating Philantropy's dealings and I got nowhere fast, all this time I've been trying to find a way to contact you or Otacon or even Mei Ling at the SSCEN, but I found I was being followed closely and I couldn't afford to put Meryl in danger"

"So the Patriots crated an entire new Philanthropy? That's quite clever actually, without having to answer to the U.N. this shadow organization could gather important information for the Patriots that they could use later, in fact I'm willing to bet that that's how they knew about the Marine Metal Gear Ray those years ago, and then it's just matter of covering it all up" Otacon replied trying to shed some light on the complicated matter.

"Very clever yes, but for the last year I've been doing investigations on my own. Trying to escape their clutches and this was the time. Meryl received a tip about a facility here in Washington and a Metal Gear that was housed on that facility"

"That was Liquid!" Snake quickly pointed out.

"Yes! But knowing that only I and she had this knowledge I made arrangements that I should lead an investigation, just a routine operation. After getting the approval the operation began and then a few hours ago when she told me all about you being a part of Philanthropy I knew I had to do something, pulled some favors with some friends in the military, of the books, and got this Sikorsky out here. But now I can't go back to where I was…" The Colonel stopped talking and stared at Snake. He was fragile. He felt the same way when he told Snake he was hiding things from him all those years ago at Shadow Moses.

"Colonel…Roy, we've an opportunity here, to begin anew and to create a better Philanthropy. I've already decided to keep my friends close and you are one of them." Snake said putting his injured arm over Campbell's shoulder. It would be the first time he did this.

"We have to get a new place to set everything up, one that the Patriots don't know about" Otacon replied.

"That's easy, no one here as ties with the Patriots or wants to have, we'll be fine." Snake said.

Snake, Otacon the Colonel headed back to the helicopter.

"By the way Colonel as we were landing Raiden said that he had seen you before, but he can't quite remember where" Otacon asked.

"Raiden? Is he that one over there?" Campbell pointed at Raiden.

"Yes"

"Hmm…I don't think I've met him"

* * *

The emergency lights came on a few seconds later, Mei Ling jumped from her seat and headed to the door but it was locked. _Emergency procedure…_ The locks on important rooms would lock automatically after a power failure. _I need to reach someone. _Mei Ling thought as she headed back to the computer, unfortunately the power was off for the computers as well. _Weird!_

In the corridor a few hundred feet from the situation room, Naomi and Rose were leaning on a wall next to the coffee machine.

"The emergency power came back pretty fast!" Rose noted.

"We should head back to Mei Ling" Naomi replied and both headed back to the situation room, however before they turned left and headed into the corridor that led to the situation room, a banging sound came from the right.

"Did you hear that?" Rose asked.

Naomi nodded. "Let's check it" She replied.

Both walked for a few feet before getting to the door of one of the elevators. A large banging on the door was heard again and then voices talking.

"Get on that end, I'll pull from here! Back there, get your guns ready. "

"What…"

Before Naomi could say anything else the elevator door opened a bit and right away she knew what was about to happen. Naomi grabbed Rose's arm and pulled her back to the corridor they had come from. "Warn Campbell, we're being breached!" Naomi said talking in a whisper.

"What!?" Rose said in fear.

"Just go, he'll take care of you!" Naomi said and pushed Rose in the direction of Campbell's office.

"What about you?" Rose asked before going.

"I'll tell Mei Ling. Now hurry"

Rose and Naomi ran into different directions. The intruders had opened the elevator door without a hitch and were now flooding the floor. They were wearing protective black helmets, goggles and balaclavas on their heads. The rest of the gear was mainly black and they all were equipped with Heckler-Koch HK G36K assault rifles and a small knife on their back strapped to the belt. The leading officer pointed his men to hold several positions around the elevator before reaching for his radio.

"Sir, we've reached the main floor all is clear, over"

"Very well Major I'm landing right now, get the systems up and running ASAP (as soon as possible), over and out." Velkan said.

* * *

"What the hell!!" Snake swerved the jeep to the left. "Are you ok?"

Raiden touched his forehead and noticed a small cut. "I'm fine, what the hell was that?"

"Sniper." Snake replied.

"A sniper, but where." Raiden carefully looked out for any spot to where the sniper might be but the only place in sight was a very far away building.

Snake kept swerving the jeep to the left and hoped to reach the village fast. "I think it came from that building."

"No way, that's too far and besides the wind is picking up, not to mention the fact we're moving quite fast. That would be close to impossible." Raiden said.

"In any case he made the shot and if hadn't been for you ducking it would've been fatal." Snake was pushing has hard as he could on the gas pedal and soon enough they were very close to one of the nearby houses. A very small fence made of wood was the only separation between the village and the desert, once they got past it they heard a tire blowing out.

"Crap!" Raiden cursed.

Then another tire blew out and then another and then smoke came out from under the hood of the car.

"He's shooting up the jeep!" Snake said noticing that after the tires had blown out he heard the sound of gunshots.

"If he's in the building how can he make those shots, he has close to no angle." Raiden said.

Suddenly Snake stopped the car, they were a few feet from a house, a rundown house but it offered some protection nonetheless. "Get out now!"

Both jumped off the jeep and headed into the house, the building where they thought the shots were coming from was behind the house so the shooter couldn't see them, giving them some time.

"So now what?" Raiden asked as saw Snake opening the door with the silenced SOCOM in his hand. The house was almost empty, small wooden boxes were by the left back corner and that was it. Both got inside and closed the door behind.

"We need to find who and where exactly the sniper is?" Snake said and immediately he got his answer.

A shout came from the general direction of the building behind the house. "SOLID SNAKE!!MY NAME IS BLACK GARAND AND THIS IS YOUR GRAVE!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Tiger was moving up and down the room as Black Phantom furiously pushed keys on the keyboard. A sigh from Phantom made it obvious that he had failed yet again.

"You can't do it?" Tiger asked already knowing the response.

"No, it's too much for me, I'm sorry"

"It's not your fault" Tiger replied caressing his left hand. "Damn these ghost pains!! Maybe it's time for me to let this go, I'm telling Marsh to hurry up so we can move on with the schedule." Tiger was headed for the exit when Phantom stopped him.

"Wait!"

Tiger stopped and turned to face Phantom, even through his suit visor Tiger saw a faint smile.

"I have an idea" Phantom said.

* * *

"Black Garand?" Snake said. _Black Unit_ Snake immediately reached for the small pouch on the left side of his waist and grabbed a small silver device. After they had been briefed and equipped Naomi gave them something, without it the mission couldn't be completed. "_This is the Nanofinder Snake and Raiden!" _Naomi stretched out her hand and in her palm were two small devices. "_One for each!__ The light will start flashing yellow and the device itself will vibrate when you're close to one of the Black Unit members."_

_"How close?" _Snake asked.

_"I have no idea, my tests showed it could be read as far as six meters, maybe seven…"_

_"That's too close!" _Raiden pointed out.

_"It is, but there is no other way to identify the members of the Black Unit…we know they have been fitted with __nanomachines__ so the nanofinder is your only chance…"_

_"Alright"_

_"After…after you've dealt with them the device itself will scan the vital signs and send the data to the closest satellite. The U.N. and the United States secretary of Defense will then receive the data..." _Naomi swallowed dry. _"I'm sorry…it's just…"_

_"It's ok. We know we have to kill them…and we know it's not something you like being a part of. Thank you, Naomi" _With one last look at Naomi's sad face Snake and Raiden went inside the plane.

However as Snake held the device in his hand it was obvious that the man named Black Garand was still too far away. "It's not picking up anything."

"Are you sure it's working?" Raiden took out his one and noticed a steady red light.

"Yeah, it's not picking up the nanomachines signal, we need to get closer." Snake pointed out.

"Closer? How?" Raiden asked.

"I'll draw his fire" Snake said as he prepared to get out of the house they were in.

"Wait a second Snake, he knows about you. How's that possible?" Raiden asked.

"I don't have an answer, but I do know that we've got to get moving with the plan there's a deadline remember?" Snake replied. "I'll run to the right and you cover me from the left, we'll advance carefully to his position. Got it?"

"Yeah" Raiden nodded.

"Good, let's go" Snake reached for his M4 equipped with a suppressor and held it ready to fire. Raiden followed suit and both exited the house door.

Snake looked to the right and saw what looked like a ghost market street, fortunately there was enough cover.

"See you in a minute" Snake said and immediately ran to the empty market street.

* * *

Naomi opened the doors to the outer room of the situation room, but the doors of the inner room were locked "Mei!!" Naomi shouted seeing Mei Ling inside.

"Naomi?" Mei Ling was sitting by the desk when she turned and saw Naomi by the door. She ran to her. "What's going on, the computers haven't rebooted yet, after a power failure they should…"

"Mei…this isn't a power failure. Several armed men are on this floor, we need to leave this place now!" Naomi replied as she again tried to open the doors. Suddenly a few feet away a gunshot was heard.

"What!!?" Mei replied. "That…what was that…" She was panting.

"Mei, listen to me. Mei?...Mei?" Naomi raised her voice.

"What? I…I'm sorry it's just…I'm scared" Mei Ling replied with a fright in her eyes that Naomi knew too well. She too had been in a similar situation, she remembered that almost a year ago in Washington, Snake had come to where she was, by chance and saved her from the men that were keeping her prisoner, she remembered that the enemy was coming into her room and Snake had little time to think of a way out, but even so he managed to get her out, he managed to save her, all this after what she had done to him. "Mei it's going to be ok, is there any way to open these doors?"

Mei panted a few more times before closing her eyes and replying. "Yes, if you can reboot the server I can open the doors from here."

"Where's the server?" Naomi asked.

"It's on the other end of the floor near the second elevator" Mei replied.

"That's not good, if they got in through the first elevator then surely they did the same from the second. Is there any other way?"

"No!" Sorry.

Without warning a voice came on the PA system. A set of speakers was over the door of the situation room.

"PHILANTHROPY STAFF!! My name is Colonel Velkan!!"

* * *

"What's going on uncle?" Meryl asked as she got into her uncle's office. She had a towel around her neck and she was sweating profusely.

"I'm trying to call maintenance but the line is down, it was probably another power outage, by the way you left abruptly. Is something the matter?"

"No, everything is fine." She sat in front of her uncle's desk.

"I know you Meryl, something's wrong ever since…"

Suddenly from the outside of the office a sound like a gunshot was heard followed by several female screams. "What the hell!" Campbell said.

As he opened the door and stepped outside in the corridor he noticed several women and men running towards the right.

"Colonel?" Rose was standing to the side of the Colonel, I've warning everybody I found as I ran here. We're being invaded!! Naomi and I spotted several men coming from the elevator shaft. I think they shot someone" Rose said almost in tears.

"What!!? That can't be, the alarms! Would everybody stop running?" Two people in front of Campbell's office stopped immediately.

"Sir, we're heading for the second elevator it's…"

"If anyone got inside this floor, then they probably used the second elevator too. We've got to think and we can't panic."

"Sorry sir!" The two people dismissed Campbell's word and ran.

"Meryl?" The Colonel whipped around and saw his niece cocking her Magnum. "Don't even think about it… we need to find a someplace before we act. Rose, where's Naomi?"

"She went for Mei Ling" Rose replied wiping her teary eyes with her hand.

"Uncle, we need to get to her!" Meryl said.

"No! Whoever the enemy is it's not trying to kill us if they wanted that they could blow this entire building to pieces, they want something else"

Suddenly through the several speakers that were spread across the building floor a voice came one. "PHILANTHROPY STAFF!! My name is Colonel Velkan!!"

* * *

"Is everything alright?" Johnattan asked a woman that seemed to be running from the devil itself.

"There are men coming from the elevator shaft, I need to warn the Colonel." The woman never stopped running. Johnattan thought the whole thing sounded weird. "That can't happen" Johnattan was curious and without fear he walked normally to the elevator. As he turned the corner that led to the elevator his eyes opened wide and he dropped his coffee mug. As it hit the floor, Colonel Velkan who had been talking with his subordinate whipped around and with a swift motion took out his USSOCOM and shot Johnattan in the head.

"Well, that's one less person to take" Velkan said as he concealed his gun under his overcoat. "Carry on Major"

"Yes sir. We've completed our work on the system. We have access to all systems including the environment control and the PA system"

"Good, very good, let's get this show on the road then"

"Here's the radio sir, it's patched through" The Major handed Colonel Velkan a radio. "The PA is on, you can go ahead sir."

"PHILANTHROPY STAFF!! My name is Colonel Velkan!!" Velkan grinned. "As some of you might be aware by now one of you is dead. But it's up to all of you if he is the last one or not. We are in control of the only exits of this floor. What I want is simple, in ten minutes I want everyone in this floor to be by the exits, unarmed. If you comply I have orders not to hurt you. After the ten minutes, the ones that fail to obey these instructions will be…executed." Velkan laughed. "How does it feel?" Velkan was still speaking to the radio. "Huh? How does it feel…Campbell?"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The secret location of Philanthropy had become a secret after Campbell, Snake and Otacon discovered that the Patriots had created a shadow Philanthropy. The location had been selected after careful consideration and it had been a top secret for many months, now it seemed everything that Philanthropy meant was destined to crumble. Philanthropy occupied the middle floor of a deserted building located in the middle of a massive private area. There were no other buildings around and no real roads for several miles. The floor occupied by Philanthropy was immense, capable of housing hundreds of people. Only two exits existed, two elevators, one could go from the ground floor to the middle and to the roof, the other could only go to the ground and to the middle floor and they were located in opposite ends. There were no stairs and incase of fire or other emergency Campbell always said that there would be a way out, but he kept it a secret from most people. The floor itself was ample. It had a gym, a cafeteria and more rooms than anyone wanted to count. The security was tight, surveillance cameras were placed almost everywhere and a PA system made sure that if someone wasn't doing what it was supposed to be doing Campbell would know about it and would be heard. On the floor there were no security guards whatsoever, but everyone that wanted to use the elevators on the ground floor would have to pass through a security checkpoint before being able to go up. Unfortunately even with all the security measures and several intruder alarms Philanthropy was discovered and its perimeter breached.

"I know you're here Campbell…come out, come out..." Velkan's voice was eerie on the PA.

"Velkan!" Campbell replied.

"You know that voice?" Meryl asked.

"Yes" The Colonel sighed. "We need to move, Meryl, take Rose and head into my private room"

"But he said…" Rose was trying to speak but the Colonel wouldn't have it.

"Rosemary, this is a dire situation, I know that man and I know what he expects"

"What do you mean?" Meryl asked.

"He knows that I won't surrender" Campbell replied as he went behind his desk and opened up a drawer. He took out a small key and a very used CODEC. "Here Meryl, this will open the door of my private room, you also need to enter the code 2121311. Once you reach my room try to find my old radio and call me up, my frequency is 140.85"

"Wait, what about you?" Meryl asked as she took the key.

"I need to get to Mei and Naomi, after that we'll meet you in my room." Campbell headed for the exit while placing the CODEC in his ear.

"I can't let do it uncle" Meryl grabbed one of her uncle's arms.

Campbell smiled. "I'll be fine, don't worry" He touched her cheek with his right hand.

"Take this at least, for protection" Meryl handed him her Magnum. "It has a full clip"

"Alright, I'll see you in a little while. By the way be careful with the cameras they must have access to them so you need to use the blind spots while they move" Campbell said and hastily got out of the room.

Meryl sighed. "C'mon we better get moving" Meryl took the lead out of the door and Rose came close behind. They had to walk a bit to get to Campbell's private room located near the lounge area.

* * *

"I've been doing some research lately, nothing major, we're just trying to keep the world safe from the threat of nuclear weapons and walking battle tanks. Basically that's it" Otacon said as he noticed Susanne smile.

"That's really something. By the way, your eyes are beautiful. Did you ever think about using contact lenses?"

"Well, I…" Before Otacon could answer one of the blue helmets that was standing guard approached Susanne.

"Madame Susanne vous avez une chamad telefonique"

"I'm sorry Dr. Emmerich, I'll be right back" After Susanne excused herself she headed to the entrance of the building and talked to the blue helmet, Otacon couldn't help but to look at Susanne's behind. A small beeping sound took Otacon's eyes from Susanne and into the computer screen. "What…"_ Philanthropy's line is down. __Weird!! _Otacon looked at Susanne again and saw her talking on the phone, she looked busy so Otacon decided to call Snake and Raiden and tell them what had just happened. Unfortunately the call never happened, all of a sudden everything went black and Otacon's eyes closed.

* * *

Unharmed, Snake had reached the end of the empty market street, even with the cover he had Snake thought that the sniper could've fired a few rounds just to make sure he couldn't hit him but he didn't do so. Something else was on Snake's mind, if this man belonged to the Black Unit then he knows the man that he had found aboard the Unknown carrier almost seven months ago. "Damn it" Snake had got to the end of the street. He reached for his CODEC and called Raiden. "Raiden, what's your status?"

"I'm moving along the side of the building but I didn't spot him yet…wait! I see something…yeah it's him. Where are you now Snake?"

"I've reached the end of the street, I'm on the corner right now, in front of me is a town square and the large building is right in front of it." Snake replied peeking around the corner of the market street and seeing large wooden crates piled up in the middle of a small town square.

"I'm going up the stairs to the roof Snake! I think he's there"

"Raiden, wait! We need to be sure" Snake replied hastily.

"I see him, he's lying flat on the northeast part of the roof, there's a small hole on the stone wall from where he can shoot. Can you see him?"

Snake risked it. He stealthily turned the corner and moved along the side wall with his M4 close to his chest, one hand on the trigger and the other firmly around the gun's grip. His eyes were set on the roof of the building straight across from him. The large yellow colored building was war torn. The leftmost part was partially destroyed and all the windows were absent. The wood front door of the building was riddled with bullet holes and it seemed to be ready to fall off its hinges. Snake directed his eyes to the northeast part of the roof. He could see a small hole, but he saw no creeping shadow behind it. "Raiden I can't see him, did you mean my northeast?"

"Of course, I can see him perfectly. He has a US Rifle Caliber .30 M1 Garand with a scope. And my device is picking up the nanomachine signature, it's definitely him"

"Hmmm, I still can't see anything only sunlight coming from the hole. You better hold on before I get there, I'm retreating to the market street and on my way there"

"Snake I can take him out silently with my blade, I'm going in"

"Raiden!" As Snake replied the CODEC went offline. "Crap!" Snake rushed for the market street but a sound stopped him. _A gunshot, from a__n__ M1! _"Raiden!!!"

* * *

Raiden skulked around the building he and Snake had been hiding, once he saw Snake reaching the middle of the market street he ran straight to the large building, Hopefully the sniper had his attention on Snake and would not see him. The plan worked and Raiden reached the east part of the building. The main entrance was out of the question if there was someone else inside they would pick off Raiden in an instant. He decided to go around the back of the building. As he circled around the building he noticed that it was severely damaged, large holes on the roof and the back wall made it possible for Raiden to see if there was anyone inside the building. Apart from a table turned upside down the building seemed deserted.

"Raiden, what's your status?" Snake voice came on the CODEC.

"I'm moving along the side of the building but I didn't spot him yet…" Suddenly Raiden heard a noise from above. He instinctively pointed his M4 upward and saw a shadow passing by. "…wait! I see something…" He then noticed the shine of what had to be a gun. "…yeah it's him. Where are you now Snake?"

"I've reached the end of the street, I'm on the corner right now, in front of me is a town square and the large building is right in front of it" Snake replied.

Raiden reached a small back entrance, the wooden door was on the ground and a small set of stairs was just beside the entrance. "I'm going up the stairs to the roof Snake! I think he's there" Raiden headed for the stairs. He went up hoping that the wooden steps wouldn't creek, fortunate enough they didn't.

"Raiden, wait! We need to be sure" Snake replied hastily.

Raiden reached the roof and felt the sun on his back, and just before he crossed the door's threshold he caught a glimpse of something.

"I see him, he's lying flat on the northeast part of the roof, there's a small hole on the stone wall from where he can shoot. Can you see him?" Raiden was safely behind the roof entrance, giving him the opportunity to spy on the enemy. Black Garand was wearing a large desert camouflage suit over his body, what Raiden found strange was the fact that he had a cowboy hat on his head and his old fashion gun. Raiden then felt a small vibration near his right leg. He took out his Nanofinder and saw the yellow light blinking.

"Raiden I can't see him, did you mean my northeast?" Snake said.

"Of course, I can see him perfectly. He has a US Rifle Caliber .30 M1 Garand with a scope. And my device is picking up a nanomachine signature, it's definitely him"

"Hmmm, I still can't see anything only sunlight coming from the hole. You better hold on before I get there, I'm retreating to the market street and on my way there"

However Raiden had other plans, he secured his M4 and slowly took out his High Frequency blade from its sleeve. "Snake I can take him out silently with my blade, I'm going in" He quickly disconnected his CODEC and advanced to the man that called himself Black Garand. _You wanted to kill me but you failed__N__ow you're mine. _Raiden moved slowly to the enemy, soon he would be no more. When he was in range Raiden lifted up his sword and with a swift motion he thrust the blade downwards. The blow would surely strike the lungs of the enemy, but something unforeseeable happened. Raiden saw the blade go through the enemy's body and striking the rock floor. _What the!!!_

Suddenly Raiden heard a gunshot and then felt a searing pain on one of his legs.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

For Black Garand there was no bigger thrill than to see his prey inside his small world, his scope. Everything that was important to him was inside this small circular existence. Everything he needed was his gun and some ammo. So many years ago his obsession with killing got him out of the army, but fortunately he met someone that wanted to take advantage of his skills, Black Tiger understood him, it was his best and only friend and no matter what he asked of him he would do. This kill however was special, it was a revenge kill and that made it more even more fun and compelling. After Garand forced the jeep to stop right where he wanted, he waited. First he saw the man that Black Tiger identified as Solid Snake run across the market street. He could've taken the shot, but he had to deal with the other man first, a man who had luckily escaped one of his shots. After Snake disappeared from his scope he knew that the other man only way to stop him would be by using the back door of the building Garand was in. Garand reached for his belt and unbuckled a circular object. It looked like some kind of mine but the bottom was shiny as a mirror and concave. Garand approached the wall right beside the roof entrance, kneeled and using the top part of the object he pressed it against the wall. After that he twisted it and moved away. If someone came through the entrance they wouldn't notice the circular object, they wouldn't notice it because as Garand moved away to the other end of the roof lied flat and pushed a small button on a small brown wristband he had on his left arm an image appeared in front of the circular object. Garand looked through the scope of his rifle and posed himself so that his hologram would be aiming through the small hole he had made on the rock wall. _Now I wait. _Garand stood perfectly still for a few minutes before seeing his prey advance on the hologram. A blond man with a dark blue suit had a sword on his hand ready to strike. Garand wanted to laugh as he witnessed the advance of the blonde man. _He's going to die…and he doesn't even know it…_When Garand saw the blade plunging through the hologram and into the ground he shot.

* * *

Campbell walked as fast as he could at his age. The cameras that populated the floor were mainly in the corners of offices and rooms and they moved side to side every two seconds. Thanks to this Campbell had a chance to avoid being seen and he got fairly quick to the outer room where Mei Ling was, as he opened the door he saw that Mei Ling was kneeling by the inner room door. "Naomi, don't it's the Colonel." Mei ling shouted. The Colonel then noticed to her side was Dr. Naomi with a fire extinguisher in her arms ready to hit him.

"Colonel!" Naomi replied.

"Are you two okay?" Campbell asked.

"We're fine, but I can't get the door to open, Mei says we need to reset the server." Naomi explained the situation.

"The server, well I have an idea for that, but we just have to wait a while." Campbell said.

"Wait for what?" Mei Ling asked sounding a bit worried.

"We need to wait for Meryl to contact me. She headed for my private room, afterwards I'll tell her about a way to get inside the server room unnoticed.

"How?" Naomi asked.

"There's a vent system above us and fortunately for us it's only accessible from a few rooms. Meryl's room is one of them. The two others are the pantry at the cafeteria and the server room"

"Why Meryl's room?" Naomi asked wondering.

Campbell made no case of the question. "We just need to wait"

Naomi kept speculating, maybe the Colonel wanted to keep Meryl safe. She knew how much he had been through all those years ago in Shadow Moses. "We wait then" Naomi replied. _Shadow Moses…I can never forget about it…_

* * *

"Sir, we have several men and women by the other elevator too" The Major was reporting to Velkan as this stood watching closely everyone that headed inside the large elevator.

"Any other personnel on the cameras?" Velkan spoke through his balaclava.

"No! And no one has reported seeing the man you described, sir"

"Then we begin the second phase, send the men and women on the elevators down to the team three, we stay here and ready ourselves for what's coming." Velkan replied moving his right hand to his face and took out his glasses and his balaclava. His head was shaved, but what grabbed attention was not his hair style but his face. It was a stern face, his upper lip was crooked and he had a large scar was over his left eye. The eye was shut and the skin around it was not the same color as the rest of his face. It was a pale white.

"Have your men and their guns ready…we're moving in a bit" Velkan said as he threw his balaclava to the floor and grinned.

* * *

Meryl and Rose were careful and avoided the security cameras on their way to Colonel Campbell's private room. The place was eerie without people. After a few minutes they got to the lounge area it was an area with large sofas around a small glass coffee table. The Colonel's private room was right across it. Many times Meryl found him sitting on the sofas contemplating a small picture of a woman, a picture that his uncle never told of who it was. Once they crossed the lounge area and got by the door, Meryl took out her key and put it in the lock. After she input the code on the keypad she turned the key and opened the door. The room was not very big but it was a far cry from the cold rooms that existed throughout Philanthropy H.Q. It was populated by medals and condecorations that the Colonel had received, there was even a portrait of the Colonel and Snake shaking hands. _Is…is this uncle? _Meryl noticed another photo were her uncle was smiling. It seemed to be a different man from the one she knew, younger and happier.

"Here" Rose said as she picked up a small old looking radio. She quickly handed it to Meryl.

She looked at it attentively and saw a small logo on the front panel followed by text. The logo was the one used by FOXHOUND, the unit that the Colonel once commanded. The text read "Transceiver". "Let's hope it still works." As Meryl turned a knob the radio crackled to life. A small LED display, showed the frequency number. She adjusted it to 140.85 and pushed the talk button.

"Meryl is that you?" Campbell's voice responded.

"Yes, I'm inside your room."

"Good, there should be a gun and a flashlight inside the small cabinet on the corner. You're going to need them. I need you to do something"

* * *

Raiden collapsed on the dusty rock floor beside what he thought was the enemy. As he tried to focus he heard his CODEC crackling and next saw the enemy getting up and walking right through the rock wall of the roof. _Huh!! _

"It's a hologram!" A voice came up from behind him. Raiden whipped around and saw the man with the desert camouflage ducked down a few feet from him. Raiden also noticed a small circular object right beside the entrance where he had come from and he then noticed that a bullet had grazed the area of his right knee.

"The knee is particularly painful. I just need you to scream loud enough to lure him out" Black Garand said.

Raiden noticed that he was smiling. His face was serene like he was having some quiet fun. He got closer to Raiden always keeping his M1 aimed at his head. "I'd like to know how you escaped one of my shots, but I don't think we have time" Garand got closer. The barrel of his M1 touched Raiden's forehead, if Raiden tried anything he'd be dead before he could do it. "Now, do your part." Garand held his M1 with one hand made a fist with his left hand and with a smile punched Raiden's wounded knee.

Raiden tried to hold the pain in.

"C'mon, you know you want to do it! Do it for me. DO IT!" Garand said and punched Raiden's knee again, this time with more force.

"AHHHHHHH!!!" Raiden screamed.

"There you go!" Garand laughed.

* * *

As soon as Snake heard the gunshot, he reached for his CODEC, but only got a "No response" signal. "Damn you!!" Throwing caution out of the window Snake headed for open space, he looked at the place where Raiden told the sniper was but saw nothing, no one was in sight. _I got to get up there! _ He ran across the small town square and when he was almost at the main entrance of the building Snake heard a loud scream. _That voice, Raiden, hold on… _Snake bashed through the wood door of the main building. It jumped straight off of its already fragile hinges and fell to the ground. Snake quickly saw stairs heading upwards and headed for them.

"YOUR FRIEND IS WOUNDED AND ABOUT TO DIE!! SOLID SNAKE, ARE YOU READY TO DIE?" Garand's voice was definitely coming from the roof above Snake, he could've tried and fire from the room below and try to hit him through the rock roof wall but Garand was probably with Raiden so Snake decided to go carefully up the stairs. Snake's breathing was a little irregular as he got closer to the roof. Once he saw the entrance he hugged the wall and proceeded slowly. As he reached the end of the wall he steadily peeked out and saw the horrible sight. Raiden was on the ground, there was blood around his right knee but what caught Snake by surprise was his face, his eyes were opened and he didn't seem to be reacting at first Snake thought he was in shock, but as Snake glanced over his chest were his M4 was strapped on he saw no breathing moves. _NO! Raiden…no… _Snake could only assume the worse, Raiden was dead.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"What do you want me to do?" Meryl asked her uncle through the old transceiver.

"I need you to go to your room. Once you get there try to find a panel on the roof that's hollow…"

"Wait…" Meryl interrupted. "What's this about?"

"We need to get to the server room to free Mei ling, after that we can find a way out of here" The Colonel replied. "There's a vent system over our heads and one of the access panels is in your room, I need you to go through the vent system and get to the server room, once there you need to reboot the server"

"How do I reboot it?" Meryl asked.

"Mei is saying you just need to push a button, it should be blinking red right now" Campbell replied.

"What about Rose?" Meryl asked.

Rose, who was looking at some of the photos of Campbell with Snake, turned to Meryl and looked her in the eyes.

"Take her with you and leave her in your room" The Colonel replied.

"Alright, I'm on my way" Meryl disconnected the transceiver and reached for the cabinet on the corner and opened it. Inside was an old vest with the FOXHOUND logo a small flashlight and a Colt Series 70 Model 1911 A1. Also inside was an old picture of a beautiful woman, an earring was on top of it. Meryl picked up both. The picture was severely degraded and Meryl could not see the woman's face, but what caught Meryl's attention was the earring, it was a bullet earring. Meryl wondered who it could belong, however conjecturers would have to wait because a voice was suddenly heard across the entire floor.

* * *

"Alright, I'm on my way" Meryl replied to the Colonel.

"Be caref…" Regrettably Meryl turned off the radio before the Colonel had time to finish his sentence. He sighed.

"So now we wait?" Mei ling asked through the transparent locked doors.

The Colonel nodded.

After that a voice came one the PA System. "Campbell I see that you remain your old stubborn self…" It was Colonel Velkan's voice. "…you had to stay behind hadn't you, you'll never change…do you still remember the first time we met? All those years ago at that briefing, the mission that changed your life…and mine forever" Velkan laughed. "Of course you do, you came back a hero and I…well I'm sure you know what happened to me. You are probably wondering why I'm here of all people. To make things clear I'm not the same man you knew, but before I tell you everything I need to find you first and rest assured I will do just that, it is my promise to you"

After the voice died out Campbell sighed again.

"Colonel?" Naomi said seeing Campbell's expression to be one of worry.

"It's nothing. Let's just keep us focused on what we have to do" The Colonel replied and got by the door, he opened it just a bit to check if anyone was near. The coast was clear.

Naomi stared at the Colonel attentively, she always knew him as a steady man. Even after what she had done Colonel Campbell still took her in. He was always so assure of himself and the ones around him, but now he was definitely different. Not only was his niece putting herself in mortal peril but also the entire Philanthropy staff had been arrested and now the threat of death hovered over anyone who failed to obey Velkan's orders. As Naomi thought more and more about it, she wondered if she would ever get out of this situation alive.

* * *

"That voice is starting to piss me off…" Meryl said as she reached for the vest, the Colt M1, and four full magazines.

"Are you sure this will work?" Rose said as she rubbed her hands together.

"Listen, you have to pull yourself together. What's happening here is awful but I need you to stay concentrated" Meryl said as she buckled the straps on the vest. "We need all the help we can get it right now…" Meryl turned and saw the look on Rose's eyes. _That __look__…was that what Snake was referring to…rookie's eyes. _"Rose" Meryl got a hold of Rose's hands and spoke quietly. "I know you're scared and afraid, but you need to use that fear…it will keep you alert and alive. Do you hear me Rose??" Meryl grabbed Rose's face with both hands. Rose nodded nervously. "Alright, but what about my child…"

"They don't want anyone except Philanthropy staff, your child and you are safe. My uncle told me that…."

"Yes, the safe house…" Rose replied much more coherently.

"Good, you remember what happened in Washington? We'll be fine as long as we're together" Meryl replied, grabbed the M1 cold, cocked it and got near the door. "Let's go, my room is near here"

* * *

Velkan was grinning as he handed the radio back at his Major. "Send two teams of three to sweep the area, one from this elevator team and one from the other"

"Yes, sir" The Major replied.

Velkan looked around and saw his entire plan unfold in perfection. The space near the elevator was surrounded by Special Forces. There was already a small desk with a small laptop that connected directly to the floor systems. Velkan got closer to the man operating the laptop, each step he took his cane made a distinguished sound on the floor and from the sound of it the cane seemed to be quite heavy. "Are you ready?"

"Yes sir" The man by the laptop replied.

"Begin with the shut down…" Velkan said.

* * *

The sight was earth shattering to Snake, as he looked at Raiden's lifeless body he saw him in a different way. Now he wasn't just someone Snake was working with, he was a friend, a very close friend - he was a part of his family. Although Snake had thought several times about him like that, not once had it been as evident as it was now.

"Crap!!" Snake first instinct was to reach for his body, but he quickly realized that Garand was probably on the lookout, to the left of where Raiden's body the roof continued on for several feet and Garand more than likely was over there. Snake thought for a second, but the image of Raiden in front of him made it almost impossible to concentrate, he had seen so many deaths. He had even seen one of his friends die by his hand, but Raiden was different. _What now? I __have to__ continue…can I do it alon__e? D__amn it. _Almost poetically it started to rain. _The rain season…_Snake was under the entrance, but even so some drops fell on his face and they felt good, not only that but something else happened Snake began to hear some crackling noises near the entrance to the left. As he turned and looked to the left he saw only Raiden's body. _What the…_All of sudden Raiden's body disappeared, in its place appeared Raiden leaning on what seemed to be a ghost wall and some kind of weapon was aimed at his head. Then the lifeless Raiden appeared again. "What the hell!! Am I crazy…" Snake had had visions on the battle field before, but this seemed different. A loud crackling sound made Snake move his head around the entrance and he noticed a small circular object with smoke coming out of it.

A gunshot was heard and then a voice shouting. "SNAKE ON THE OTHER EN….." The voice was Raiden's.

* * *

Garand kept his rifle pointed at Raiden as he took out the bracelet from his left arm and placed it on Raiden. He only used his left hand and the bracelet attached itself immediately. "Now smile" Garand said.

Raiden looked at him wondering what he meant and Garand quickly pushed a small black button on the bracelet. After a few seconds Raiden heard a faint noise. "Now let's move he should be here soon" As Garand said this he heard a large thud. _The main door…_"You know it's a good thing I set up that door, gives us a nice warning" Garand grinned at Raiden. "YOUR FRIEND IS WOUNDED AND ABOUT TO DIE!! SOLID SNAKE, ARE YOU READY TO DIE?" Garand shouted and as quickly as he could he got close to Raiden and said in whisper. "Move now…or you die and so does your friend"

Raiden obeyed, only because he knew that Snake would be coming soon and Garand would soon be dead, however as Garand quickly pushed Raiden to the far end of the roof and forced him to sat down near the side wall of the roof, Raiden saw something in the distance near the entrance. _That's me…it's my hologram…_Garand sat next to Raiden behind two small wooden crates he had taken up there to use as support for his Garand M1 Rifle. His rifle however was pointed at Raiden's forehead. "It's a still hologram of you…you're dead. You're about to see how good I am, after your friend comes into my view I'll kill you and still have plenty of time to move my gun to kill the famous Solid Snake" Garand said as he kept his eyes over the two crates, on the roof entrance. His concentration was firm.

Raiden could only stare at the hologram; Garand would lure Snake and take him out._ I underestimated him…_

A small drop of water fell on Raiden's head followed by a couple more. A few seconds later it was raining.

Garand narrowed his eyes as he looked at the hologram, something was wrong and he knew it. _The rain…I didn't anticipate it. _Garand's fear came true seconds later as the hologram suddenly changed from Raiden's still body to what was happening at that moment. _No, no!! _

It didn't even last a whole second, but Raiden saw that Garand's M1 rifle shifted a bit to the right. _Now!! _He didn't even think about it, Raiden just reacted. He used his right arm and swerved the gun to the side. Garand's instinct was to fire but he hit nothing but air. Raiden next reaction was to use his left arm and the side wall as leverage and he quickly jumped from the roof screaming. ""SNAKE ON THE OTHER EN….." The fall to the ground wasn't enough to kill him but it hurt pretty badly. He only hoped Snake got the message.

Garand quickly gathered himself and pointed his gun at the entrance. _I still have one shot…nothing is lost_


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"What's the situation between you and this Velkan character Colonel?" Naomi asked politely.

"It's a long story" Campbell replied looking through the opened door. "A story I don't want to tell right now" The Colonel shut the door. "Let's just keep focused on getting Mei Ling out, after that we'll figure out a way to get out of here"

"They are coming to kill us aren't they? That's what than man Velkan said. We had ten minutes to leave on our own…"

"No" The Colonel interrupted Naomi. "There's something else at work here, Velkan's appearance is no coincidence…"

"What are you saying?" Naomi asked as she saw the puzzled look in Campbell's eyes.

Campbell leaned on the wall right next to the door.

"As soon as I heard Velkan's voice I put two and two together, there's something…" before Campbell could say anything else he heard his CODEC ringing.

* * *

Meryl had her gun pointed at every corner she came by. Rose was following closely behind and soon enough they got to Meryl's room, but not before seeing an enemy soldier passing by on one of the corridors. "Get in" Meryl ordered Rose as she opened the room door and noticed if there was anyone in sight before closing it behind her. "We should be safe for now" Meryl's room was empty for the most part. There was a free weight machine in the middle of the room and a small desk with several papers on it. "I'm sorry about the mess. I'm not cut out for a desk job" Meryl said as she saw Rose looking at the untidiness of the room. Meryl then reached for her transceiver and contacted her uncle.

"I'm inside my room, what now?" Meryl asked.

"Good job, climb on to something and try to find a hollow panel on the roof" As Campbell said this Meryl head turned upwards to see the roof. There were several beige panels. "I'm on it" Meryl replied, got by her desk and with a swift motion she threw all of the papers over the desk to the floor. Rose stood quietly watching Meryl getting up on her desk and knocking the panels with her left hand. After a few seconds Meryl knocked on one that had a distinct sound. "This is it" She pushed it up and the panel lifted, she then threw it to the side and saw that a few feet up was a small round grilled vent.

"I got it" Meryl said to the transceiver.

"Alright, now get inside"

"Which way is the server room?" Meryl asked wondering how she would found anything inside a vent shaft.

"Inside you'll need the flashlight, there is a painted line inside the shaft that's sensitive to light and it connects the three rooms. There should be some words written saying to which side is the server and to which side is the pantry on the cafeteria"

"You thought of all this before they put in the shaft?" Meryl asked a bit surprised.

"Yes" The Colonel replied, more than anything he now knew not to let anything to chance.

Meryl looked up at the grill and noticed it was too far up to get there on her own. "Rose I need you to give me a boost" Meryl jumped off the desk and pushed it to the side. "Stand here"

Rose obeyed and got in place, she then positioned herself in order to push Meryl up. "Alright here we go" Meryl placed her hands on Rose's shoulder and her right boot on Rose's two hands. Rose then pushed her up and Meryl easily got a hold of the grilled vent. She pulled it and it came off easy, she then grabbed the side if the vent and heaved herself up.

It was dark and cold inside. She reached for her flashlight and immediately saw the light sensitive line. It was a few inches thick and it seemed to go on forever to the left and to the right. On closer inspection Meryl saw two words over the entrance. On the left was the word 'CAFETERIA' and on the right 'SERVER'. _Hmm…amazing._Meryl was definitely astonished that her uncle had come up with this secret way to go around the floor. However she soon speculated as to why one of the entrances was in her room. Could her uncle just be protecting her, if that was true that didn't made Meryl very content, she was still being taken care of and she didn't like it one bit.

"Do you see it Meryl?" Campbell asked.

"I see the line, I'm heading to the right, I'll contact you once I reach the server room. Meryl out" She was quick to disconnect as she didn't want to hear more from her uncle. "Rose I'll be right back, ok?"

"Sure" Rose replied as she got behind the desk and sat on the floor.

* * *

Tiger was sitting by the computer where Phantom had been working, the area was deserted and Tiger was alone with his thoughts. Thoughts of what he should do next. He could only imagine how the fight between Garand and the two intruders was going. _He can do it…easily. _The radio alerted Tiger back to reality.

"Tiger, are you there?" It was Marsh's voice.

"What is it?" Tiger replied.

"I'm almost ready to go. The Comanche and the final piece are being boarded on the train as we speak. In one hour I'll be there."

"Good"

"What about…"

"I don't want to talk about it." Tiger snapped back at Marsh.

"Just get back here"

"Very well. Black Ronin out"

* * *

Snake was on full alert after he heard Raiden's shouting that the enemy was on the other side of the roof. It had been all a trick to lure Snake out. If Snake risked to go out the sniper might spot him immediately. Snake had no idea where in the other end of the roof the sniper was, if he was lying flat or on one knee or behind something. Suddenly the CODEC rang.

"Snake it's me." Raiden seemed to be struggling to talk. "I'm going around the building to you…about the sniper he should be…."

"Raiden, are you there!" Snake tried to get some response but he only heard static.

The rain was now somehow different. There were weird white particles on the air. _A Chaff grenade!! _

"I'M READY FOR EVERYTHING SOLID SNAKE!!" Garand shouted and suddenly something exploded right next to Snake, the wooden stairs blew up into pieces. "AHH!!" Snake grunted as he felt splinters hit the side of his face. The explosion threw him to the ground, his M4 to the side and he was now in plain sight of Black Garand. "HAHA, see I told you… I'm always a step ahead…HAHA!!" Garand was laughing loudly. Snake could hear it even thought his ears were still buzzing because of the noise of the explosion.

"SNAKE!!" Raiden shouted. "SNAKE!!!"

Garand couldn't hold is contentment, he loved it when is plan worked one way or the other, he was always able to trick everyone, even when they thought they had the upper hand Garand always had a way out, he thought of everything. Every contingence, every possible hiccup and even though this time he didn't expect the rain it was only one mistake. _One small mistake…it doesn't matter__ the outcome is still the same, I'll kill Solid Snake and then the other…oh so perfect. _

Garand rejoiced, however suddenly and without warning he saw Solid Snake moving. _What is he doing?_ Black Garand wondered and sometimes wondering can be your downfall.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Snake was on the ground and he knew Garand would soon shoot him, but before this happened Snake noticed something, a glimmer, a glimmer of hope. He had noticed it before, but made no case of it. Raiden's sword was right by his side, stuck on the rock roof floor, and as he looked at the blade he saw a reflection. The blade was so polished it was practically a mirror and it revealed Garand's position to Snake, at least the position of his gun, Snake reached for his SOCOM and without taking much aim he fired until he saw the shots reflected on the blade reaching Garand's general area. A scream of pain was all that took for Snake to know that he had shot him. Snake rolled to the side and aimed his gun carefully. He could see someone on the ground on the far side of the roof, someone wearing a cowboy hat. Snake got to his feet, holstered his SOCOM and grabbed his M4.

Snake was advancing towards Garand. "Solid Snake…you beat me…" Garand said as he held the blood coming from his abdomen area with both his hands.

Snake got real close to Garand and got on one knee next to him, Garand was a few breaths away from dying. Snake reached for the NanoFinder and held it close to Garand's body. The small square device was blinking yellow and vibrating like crazy. "It'll be over soon" Snake replied as he saw the mortal wound.

"…I didn't see that…one coming…'cough'…it was…unpredictable…" Garand said as he looked Snake in the eyes.

The NanoFinder light turned to a steady yellow for a few seconds then a steady red. _One down…_Snake thought to himself.

"In war, there are some things you can never predict" Snake replied.

"…yes…but somehow I think…that I failed because of who you are…you look just like him…"

"The man called Salil…" Snake remembered the man on the carrier speaking the name. "…is it Liquid?"

"humph…yes…Liquid Snake…" Garand replied closing his eyes and opening them again slowly.

_Crap…he's almost dying__ it'll have to wait. The mission is more important. _"Can you tell me how many of the Black Unit are there?" Snake asked putting the fact that this man knew Liquid behind him.

" 'cough'…So you're just…going to try and kill us all…" Garand asked as he felt the blood reaching his mouth.

"How many?" Snake asked again.

"…If you give me my gun…I'll tell you something…" Garand took one of his hands from his abdomen and pointed to the Garand M1 rifle that was sitting near some wooden crates. Snake reached for it and saw that one of his SOCOM bullets passed right through the wooden crates and hit Black Garand. "It's a nice weapon" Snake said as he held the M1 Rifle and handed it to Garand careful enough to make sure the barrel wasn't pointed at him.

"…yes…it is…now, my left sleeve…pull it up…" Garand replied holding the M1 upright with his right hand.

Snake cautiously pulled Garand's left, desert camouflage suit, sleeve up and saw a tattoo.

"That…tattoo is everything you need to know…we're all there…now…let me die"

"Huh?" Snake grunted as he looked at the weird tattoo.

"Snake…please pull the trigger…hear the sweet sound of finality…never once did I failed to hear it…please…" Snake rapidly realized what Black Garand was talking about. Snake reached for the M1 trigger and pulled it. The abnormal metallic "pinging" sound changed the expression on Garand's dying face. He was smiling.

_Weird…_Snake thought as he saw the satisfaction in Garand's face.

"Snake…" Garand took his left hand from his wound, leaving it without pressure and bleeding out faster, and grabbed Snake's arm. "…we…are not…the…enem…" Garand's eyes closed and he was dead.

"Snake!!" Raiden was near the entrance to the roof. "Are you ok?" He shouted.

"I'm fine" Snake replied as he once more diverted his eyes to the tattoo.

Raiden on the other hand pulled his sword form the floor and placed it on its sleeve and then headed near Snake. "What is that?" he asked as he saw a weird tattoo that spelled out 'Black'.

"It's an ambigram tattoo."

Copy and Paste the URL in your address bar to see the picture:

http://metalgear.do.sapo.pt/tattoo.jpg

"What does it mean?" Raiden asked.

"Five letters…it means there are four more members of the Black Unit we need to take care of" Snake replied getting on his feet and sighing. "Are you ok?" Snake turned to Raiden.

"I'm fine, he grazed my knee, but I can still move." Raiden replied.

"For a minute I thought you were dead, that was some neat trick." Snake said as he headed back to the roof entrance. "A hologram huh?"

"He tricked me with it too" Snake and Raiden stopped near the entrance and looked at the small circular object placed on the wall.

"I'm reaching Otacon, and then we're moving"

"We don't have transportation."

"He must have gotten here somehow. After I reach Otacon and H.Q. we'll take a look around this ghost town" Snake reached for his CODEC and after a few seconds a voice that wasn't Otacon's came on.

* * *

Meryl had been crawling for minutes when she finally saw the end of the light sensitive line. A small vent grill made known that the server room was below. Meryl pushed down and she heard not only the grill but the roof panel crashing on the ground. Meryl bit her lip wondering if anyone was near the room, she knew that the server room was dangerously close to the second elevator. A few seconds passed without any sign of enemies so Meryl carefully got out of the vent. As soon as she reached the ground she shivered. _It's cold in here. _Around her were several big machines all with blinking lights. The room was lit by lamps situated around the walls near the ground. _A red light?_Meryl surveyed the room left and right and found a computer terminal where a red light on top of a blank screen was blinking red. A button was beside it. She took hold of the transceiver and called her uncle. "I'm inside the server room and I've located the button" Meryl got closer and noticed that on the ground beside the computer terminal was an object that didn't seemed to belong there. The object was about the size of a shoe box. It was all black and had two antennas coming from it.

"Good, now just push the button to reset the server" Campbell replied.

"By the way there's a weird thing by the side of the computer. A small black box with antennas on it."

"Hold on…"

* * *

Campbell got close to Mei ling and asked her through the lock doors. "Mei, Meryl says there's a small box with two antennas beside the terminal on the server room. "Is that what I think it is?"

"It's likely…" Mei replied.

Campbell felt a tingling on his spine as he replied. "Mei and I think that could be something used by the intruders to gain access to our computer, PA and camera system"

"Then if I shut it down, they'll lose the capability, right?"

"If she can reset the server I may have a way to stop them from trying to get control again from here" Mei replied as she got near one of the offline computers.

Campbell stood quiet thinking. "Colonel is something the matter?" Naomi asked.

"Meryl if you disconnect the server Mei could have the chance to take control of the systems from here, but…it would alert the enemy to your position." Campbell gave a dire sigh.

"All right I'll do it"

"Meryl, be careful" Campbell said.

Suddenly Mei Ling heard the doors unlocking and saw the computers starting up. "We're online." She replied.

"You did it Meryl!" Campbell said on the CODEC.

Mei Ling then ran a systems diagnostics and shut down all the camera access and then saw the environment diagnostics. "What the!?"

"I'm getting out of here now" Campbell heard Meryl say on his CODEC.

"Good…" Before Campbell could end his reply he heard gunfire. "Meryl!!? What was that? Meryl?" Campbell said raising his voice.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Sir!!" The man sitting by the laptop got up and turned to Velkan. Velkan was talking to the Major. "What is it?"

"The entire system just reset, we lost the cameras, everything…" The man replied clearly taken aback.

"The server room" Velkan grabbed is radio as quickly as he could. "Secondary team, send someone to the server room now!!!" Velkan ordered.

"Right away sir" A man on the other side replied.

Velkan quickly walked to the man beside the laptop and with his enormous hands grabbed him by his collar. "The environmental system, did we lose that too?"

"Yes…I'm sorry sir" The man replied.

Velkan grunted. "We may yet lose our advantage"

In the distance Velkan and the other men around him heard several gunshots.

"What's happening over there, secondary team?" Velkan quickly asked through the radio.

"Sir, we have an armed enemy!!...Crap!! It got two of ours, they're dead…"

_Campbell__, your hand is on this… _"Get some men and find…

"Sir, we have another problem, the server room, it's completely dead. According to one of our man everything is offline" The man on the radio said. "And it feels like the temperature is dropping fast"

Velkan quickly realized the same thing. "Good, stand by your position. To the men searching for any intruders, be careful there could be armed personal on the floor" Velkan spoke to the two teams of three people he had sent to search for hostiles. "Major, after the teams come back, we're going in"

"You don't think they'll find him, sir?" The Major asked.

"Not him, them, there's more than one that stayed behind, Campbell is an old man, much like myself. He's going to stay hidden. And I'm going to be the one to find him. The others you'll dispose of"

"Yes, sir"

"Our plan was to cool down this place but now that the environment system is out of control it could get extreme cold, make sure the men don't crumble" Velkan replied as he took out his overcoat. His equipment was the same as the men around him, all black, instead of having a Heckler-Koch HK G36K Velkan had a USSOCOM strapped to the side of his chest.

"Yes sir" The Major replied with confidence and headed to the other men standing guard.

"Now it truly begins" Velkan took a deep breath.

* * *

Meryl pushed the button and straight away heard a beeping noise coming from the terminal, the screen lit up. _That's it. _

A few seconds went by and then Campbell resumed communication. "You did it Meryl!"

_Alright! _"I'm getting out of here now."

"Good…" Campbell was replying to her on the CODEC when unexpectedly Meryl saw a bright light flooding the server room. The door was opening up. Meryl hastily grabbed her Colt M1991A1 and pointed it at the opened door.

She saw a man in black gear heading inside and she didn't hesitate. She fired six rounds before she saw the man falling to the floor dead. "Meryl!!? What was that? Meryl?"

Before having a chance to reply Meryl noticed that another man was coming in, she quickly hid behind one big server machines. The bullets hit the machine and sent sparks all over the place. "Damnit" Meryl moved away from one machine and hid behind another. Another spray of bullets followed her. Once she had a chance she fired two rounds, only to realize that after that the magazine was empty. _Should've kept track of it!! _ Meryl quickly reloaded the Colt M1991, but before she could fire, she moved again, as the enemy had started firing. Suddenly all of the machines on the server room powered down, apart from the light coming through the opened door the room was dark. Meryl couldn't take on an enemy in the dark with a smaller and underpowered gun. She quickly thought of something that could get her out of the hairy situation. _Maybe if I…_Meryl silently tried with all her strength to push the big server machine. After a few seconds the machine budged and she pushed harder. It began to tumble forwards, tumbling the next machine, after Meryl heard the scream she knew that the man had been struck.

"Meryl respond!!?" Campbell asked through the transceiver. Meryl ignored her uncle and as she got close to the exit she heard footsteps, someone was coming. She quickly looked to the vent entrance and realized that she could climb the fallen machines and get up there again. She saw the two men she had killed were now underneath the machines and so was the roof panel and the vent grill, nobody would see it so she could fool whoever was coming. As she grabbed the vent ledge she felt that she was stuck in something, she swerved left and right and without much trouble she was safe on the vent shaft.

"Oh no!!" Meryl heard one man say. "Sir, we have an armed enemy!!...Crap!! It got two of ours, they're dead…"

Meryl smiled and headed through the vent slowly back to her room, she had turned off the transceiver before climbing the vent and now that she was out of earshot, she could reply.

* * *

Campbell could only hear gunfire through his CODEC.

"What happened?" Naomi asked as she got closer to the Colonel.

"Gunfire!" She told Naomi.

"No!!" Mei Ling shouted and slapped the computer monitor. "There's something wrong, I lost the connection."

As soon as the gun fire stopped Campbell try to speak to Meryl again. "Meryl respond!!?" No response from the other side and soon thereafter the transmission went offline. _No, Meryl!!_

"Colonel, did you hear me?" Mei Ling headed out of the inner room for the first time in hours. "Wow, it's really cold in here."

"What is it?" Campbell asked.

"Well, the system is offline I don't know what happened"

"Gunfire" Naomi said. "- inside the server room"

"No! If they shot the server machines by accident, that may have rendered the system permanently offline" Mei Ling said clearly worried.

"Then the intruders don't have access to it right?" Campbell asked.

"That's right, but neither do we and to make matters worse, I was correcting the settings of the environment system. It's a separate system, the same for the electricity and it didn't shutdown"

"This cold" Campbell noted. "It's Velkan's work. How cold will it get?"

"Very!" Mei Ling replied.

"There must be a wa…wait a second Meryl is on the line."

Naomi and Mei Ling looked at each other, both had puzzled looks. What would they do next, what could they do?

"I see. I'll be waiting. Meryl, the environment system is out of action so it could get cold fast, get to your room and sit tight" Campbell replied to Meryl. "Meryl's fine, she got two of them and escaped without them knowing about the vent system.

"So what's the plan now!?" Mei ling asked as she rubbed her hands together. She was now realizing what a bad idea it had been to come to work wearing a skirt.

"Shhh!!" Campbell whispered.

The elegant and quite modern knob of the door was turning, somebody was coming inside.

* * *

"This is Susanne Sonders liaison for the U.N. is there somebody there?" Susanne's voice was new to Snake.

"Who is this? Where's Otacon?" Snake quickly asked. Raiden looked at Snake in a strange way.

"This is Snake isn't it!!? I was with Dr. Emmerich…helping him out…when…there was an attack, a bomb I think…they got me…and Hal…" Susanne was speaking fast and Snake had trouble keeping up with her.

"Hold on, calm down! Just tell me where Otacon is?"

"Otacon…oh Dr. Emmerich…well…he's right by my side…" Susanne replied.

"Why are you using his CODEC then? Put him on."

"I…I can't..." Susanne replied with a slight hiccup, she was starting to cry.

"Damnit why not!!?" Snake replied hitting the entrance wall with his left hand.

"Be…because he's…" Susanne was sobbing. "…he's dead…"

Snake suddenly felt like a rock had fallen to his stomach, his breathing failed for a second and his knees faltered. _Otacon! _Snake closed his eyes.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Campbell waved his hand, directing Naomi and Mei ling to hide in the inner room. He then reached for Meryl's .50 caliber Desert Eagle Magnum and held it with both hands placing himself behind the door as it opened. He held his breath and waited. The barrel of a machine gun was the first thing he saw. _I'll aim the gun at his head… _Campbell thought as the enemy entered the room. At the first sight of the enemy's protective head gear Campbell moved his arms to place the gun directly in the temple area. However old age had taken its toll, Campbell was not a young Green Beret anymore. Without even knowing Campbell grunted as he moved his arms and that alerted the enemy, who turned immediately and saw Campbell branding his gun. A quick motion by the enemy threw the Desert Eagle to the ground and left Campbell disarmed but not dissuaded. A wrinkled expression on his face and a movement of his hand was all that he had now. The punch hit the enemy on the stomach area. The enemy didn't falter at all. Instead he used the butt of his gun and slammed it to Campbell's chest area. The Colonel fell to the ground in front of the enemy. The enemy then pointed his gun at him. "Stay down, old timer!!" The voice of the enemy belonged to a man. He reached for his radio with his left hand but before he called anyone a sound came from behind him. He quickly turned around and saw two women, one was heading for the Desert Eagle on the ground and the other was behind her looking over the shoulder.

"What's this!!?" The man laughed. "Stay back!" All of a sudden he felt a pull on his backside and then another on his legs. Without realizing it, Campbell had pulled the enemy's legs and threw him to the ground. Naomi dashed to get the desert eagle, but Campbell was on top of things, quite literally. He got up on the enemy, held the enemy's HK G36K down and with a thrust motion he moved the enemy's own knife, which he had taken from him when he turned around, into his unprotected throat.

"AHHHH!!" After the scream, the death was immediate. _Chri…I…_Campbell was staring at the man's mortal wound. It had been a long time since he had killed anyone.

"Colonel, are you ok?" Mei Ling asked.

"Yes!" Campbell replied. "I'm fine. Close the door."

But it was too late. Footsteps alerted everyone inside the room that the trouble wasn't over.

* * *

The door opened and revealed a large white and black marble decorated room. The ceiling was high and there were two pillars on the center. There were several paintings and pictures around the room, depicting several key moments in the history of the United States. Included were the painting 'Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States'by Howard Chandler Christy, a picture of a large boat in front of the Statue of Liberty and a picture of the North-American flag. Tiger was entering the room and immediately saw Phantom talking to someone that was sitting behind a desk, in front of one of the pillars. There were also two guards around the desk.

"Phantom?" Tiger called.

Black Phantom walked away from the desk and got near Tiger. "Yes?"

"How's it going?"

"Slowly." Because of the hazmat suit it was almost impossible to perceive, but Phantom sighed. "What about V?"

"On a special mission" Tiger replied. "Marsh is coming back less than an hour from now. Make sure everything is ready when he arrives"

Phantom nodded inside his suit. "It shouldn't take too long after I have it" Phantom raised his right hand and looked at the small computer he had on the top of his right hand. "According to this, everything is on schedule. I still need to run some tests on the DRS but its minimal" Phantom then directed his eyes to Tiger. "Are you ok? You seem distracted"

"No it's nothing, keep up the work!" Tiger replied and started to head out of the room.

"Even…"

Phantom's question was quickly interrupted. "Yes, even that" Tiger left the room and closed the door behind him.

* * *

"That can't be!!?" Snake replied with his eyes still closed.

"What happened?" Raiden asked as he saw Snake's expression.

"I tried…to feel a pulse, but I didn't found one…I've been trying to call someone on this gadget but I got no signal on the majority of the frequencies."

"What happened to Otacon? How did…how did he die?" Snake's question made Raiden realize what had transpired. Raiden sighed heavily wondering how Otacon could be dead.

"There was a large explosion…I think…I think he died instantly"

The idea that Otacon didn't felt anything when he died didn't make it any easier.

"…and then I woke up here" Susanne replied.

"Here? Here where?" Snake asked.

"I have no idea, it seems to be some kind of basement…there's a guard…so I can't get out. What about you?"

"What?" Snake asked.

"I'm sorry it's just that I don't want to think about Dr. Emmerich…"

Snake sighed. "I see" Snake replied sensing by the way that Susanne said 'Dr. Emmerich' that both had become close for the past hours.

"I just came here to set up a meeting with you and Robinson…I should've known that a thing like this might have happen I just never thought…"

"Calm down!!" Snake replied.

"Snake, is it true? Is Otacon really dead?" Raiden asked as he heard the conversation between Snake and whoever was on the other line changing from that subject.

Snake gave a slight nod and Raiden quickly realized the extent of the situation. _Crap, we can't even contact H.Q. _Little did he know that even if he wanted he couldn't reach Philanthropy Headquarters.

"It's possible that you're inside the enemy territory" Snake said to Susanne. "If you're there, we'll find you" _I need…I need to see him by myself… _"We've just disposed of an operative of the Black Unit and we're now moving east just like your contact said."

"You killed one of them!!? That's good!" Susanne replied. "Oh!! I have to go the guard is coming…" The CODEC disconnected and the transmission was cut off.

"Damn!" Snake cursed as he turned to Raiden. "We need to get a move on…" Snake headed for the exit.

"Snake." Raiden grabbed Snake's right arm. "Otacon's dead and we can't reach H.Q…."

"I know!" Snake replied. "Let's go" He knew that the situation was extremely dire, but he also knew that the mission wouldn't wait.

Instead of the wooden stairs, that connected the floor below with the roof, now there was a large tilted door. After the explosion that blew up the stairs Raiden had picked up the door and through great effort he built a ramp to the roof. Once down, both Snake and Raiden headed out into the village to look for Black Garand's mean of transportation. On the roof a muffled sound came from inside Black Garand's ear. His VOXER came alive. "Garand, are you there? It's Tiger. Garand!? Garand!!!?"

* * *

The cold was getting more and more intense as Meryl crawled through the vent, the entrance to her room was close but the temperature was dropping fast. _The cold!!_ A moment later a light from below made known that the entrance to her room was in view. She quickly climbed down crossed her arms and rubbed her shoulders. "Rose?" She asked seeing Rose's head between her legs.

"Yes?" She replied lifting her head up and looking at Meryl.

"Is everything alright here?"

Rose was shivering. "It's cold!! It's been getting colder for the past few minutes!" She replied. "And I heard some gunshots I think."

"It was all my fault, one of the enemies shot up the server room and…well now we have to deal with the cold" Meryl got by Rose's side and kneeled down. "But don't worry everything's going to…"

"NO!!" Rose raised her voice and stopped Meryl's sermon. "Why does everyone say that? Ever since I got here I only hear people saying that. No, not everything is going to be alright!! First, only two months after what had happened in Washington, Jack gets dragged by someone into a mission and now this!! The entire situation is out of control!! This is not just about the Patriots, it's about the fact that you and everyone here can't accept that you can't do anything about them, or beat them, no one can and trying is just stupid!!!" Rose's eyes were tearing.

Meryl looked directly into her eyes. She saw her eyes closing and shedding tears. _This is my fault. _Meryl thought to herself as she realized that Rose's words were very possible too truthful to dismiss. _If I hadn't gone to that carrier, but uncle's friend…I just don't know._ Meryl's thoughts would have to wait since the sound of machine gunfire in the distance brought her focus back to the situation at hand. She quickly reached for the transceiver and called her uncle.

"Meryl!! We're heading your way, I need you provide us with cover!! This way Mei!! The Colonel's voice shot out from the transceiver speaker and was followed by machine gunfire. It was weird hearing it on the transceiver and in the nearby area. _ That can't be good!!_

Meryl darted off her room and headed into the direction of the gunfire.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The footsteps were dangerously close to the entrance. Campbell secured the enemy's HK G36K and got near Naomi and Mei Ling. "We need to move from this place, stay close to me" Campbell said as he headed towards the exit.

"Hey, are you goofing around, c'mon we need to return to point one" An enemy voice shouted, probably trying to get the attention of the man that now lay dead on the floor inside the room.

"On my move, run, I'll cover you!! Head for Meryl's room." Campbell said in a whisper and moved out into the open area of the corridor. He immediately saw two enemies and with no faltering he fired the machine gun, providing covering fire to Mei Ling and Naomi. Campbell hadn't stopped firing until he reached the corridor across, now he had some cover behind an office room. Mei Ling was right by his side, but Naomi wasn't. "Where's…" But the answer came right away.

"AHHH!" A scream alerted Campbell and Mei Ling to the side of the corridor that they had just passed. Naomi was holding her shoulder. Blood was seeping from a scratch-like wound.

"Don't move!!" One of the enemies shouted at Naomi.

Naomi dropped the Desert Eagle and she had no choice but to obey the order. "It's just a flesh wound, run!!" She shouted before one of the enemies, grabbed her arms and held them behind her back.

Campbell nodded at Naomi and pushed Mei Ling forward into the other corridor. "Let's go, she'll be fine"

"We're just going to leave her!!?" Mei Ling asked as she felt Campbell pushing her back.

"We'll get her back!!"

"STOP!!" The other enemy was now in pursuit of Campbell and Mei Ling.

_Damnit I can't stop to fire…__he'll pick me off immediately! _Campbell was already panting as he thought of a way out. Both were running across the wide corridors and the cold in their unprotected faces felt like needles. Because of several office rooms in the way to Meryl's room, they managed to avoid having a clear line for the enemy to shoot, but Campbell couldn't run forever. Unexpectedly Campbell's CODEC rang. _Meryl! _"Meryl!! We're heading your way; I need you to provide us with cover!!" Campbell shouted. Then he saw Mei Ling taking the wrong way. He hastily grabbed her arm and pulled her to the right. "This way Mei!!" Gunfire broke out from the enemy and it almost hit Mei Ling. Meryl's room was right in the next corner, as soon as they went around it Campbell saw Meryl holding her gun steady with both hands and with a flaring confidence in her eyes. The enemy never stood a chance, one single bullet was all it took, Meryl didn't miss. A bullet to the forehead ended up with a corpse by her feet.

* * *

Velkan was massaging his left temple sitting down in front of the now disconnected laptop. Gunfire could be heard in the local area but Velkan didn't seem to be bothered by it. A radio message stopped his massaging hand and brought a slight grin to his otherwise serious face.

"This is sweep team one, one of ours in on pursuit with the man described as Campbell and we also have one man down, knife to the throat. I also have a hostage with me but I respectfully request to go on pursuit and dispose of the hostage"

"No!" Velkan grabbed the radio and said. "Bring the hostage to me, now!!"

"Roger" The man on the other side replied.

"Sir?" The Major asked as he heard Velkan's reply. "Shouldn't we kill them and…"

"This is my operation Major and I want Campbell alive…." A loud sound far away was the thing Velkan expected. _A .45! _"Humph…just as I thought. Campbell still has a few aces up his sleeve. Let this place cool down a bit more, than they'll be fragile, worn-down and we'll be ready."

"Sir" The Major pointed out to Velkan that his radio had an incoming message on a secure line.

"Leave me Major" Velkan ordered.

"Yes sir" The Major retreated and joined the other men.

"What is it Ocelot?" Velkan answered his radio.

"Just checking in" Ocelot replied.

"Everything is going fine, there's no need for you to keep tabs on me." Velkan replied taking hand to his left temple.

"It should have ended by now Velkan! Are you wasting time?"

Velkan grunted. "No!"

"Velkan, it's about him isn't it? That Colonel!!"

"You and I both know that I need to do this my way"

"Just make sure you don't fail!" Ocelot replied. "Over and out" The transmission ended.

Velkan placed the radio down and continued to massage his left temple. _Damn headache!! I have to do this…I can't stop now!! I need him to know._

"Sir, the prisoner" The Major was by Velkan's side. Velkan turned and saw a woman, her hands in plastic straps.

"What's your name?" Velkan asked.

Naomi saw the incredible stature of Velkan, it was threatening but she didn't reply.

Velkan looked her from head to toes. She was wearing an unbuttoned white lab coat and most of her was hair tightened into a bun. "Are you a doctor? Because I have a splitting headache right here" Velkan took his hand to his left temple.

Naomi said nothing, she only lowered her head. "If you stayed behind, then it means you have some connection with Campbell and that makes you a very useful hostage" Velkan turned to his Major. "Put her in someplace where she can't do anything and have someone guard her"

"Yes, sir" The Major grabbed Naomi by her arm and pulled her towards the elevator door.

Naomi glanced at Velkan speculating what connection existed between this man and the Colonel, however after a hard push where Naomi was thrown to the ground right next to the elevator doors she quickly wondered what would happen to her.

"Keep an eye on her you hear!" The Major addressed a soldier standing in front of the doors which seemed to be shaking.

"Ahh, yes sir…right away!!" The soldier replied.

As the Major moved away Naomi heard the solider talking to himself. "Man, what a ball buster! I shouldn't have come with them…damn military types…" Naomi, who was face down, turned and looked at the soldier's face. It was covered with a balaclava. "I'm not cut out to be in the Special Forces…huh!!" The soldier realized that the woman on the ground was looking at him. "Ah…" The soldier turned his eyes and grunted under his breath. "Oh jeez…she's really good looking…I hope I don't have one of my crisis!!"

* * *

It didn't take much time for Snake and Raiden to find a jeep, identical to the one that had been shot up by Black Garand, on the other side of the deserted village. It had almost a full tank and the key was on the ignition.

" 'East' that's what Robinson said." Raiden spoke as he took the passenger's seat and took out a compass from the small pouch on the left side of his waist belt and placed it on the dashboard.

"Right. Let's go!!" Snake turned the key and accelerated.

The air was getting colder now and night was just an hour away. To the east was the rumored railway that Robinson dismissed as being real. Snake and Raiden would soon find out the truth.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Meryl, Campbell and Mei Ling were now safely inside the room. Campbell saw a chair that had several papers on it. "You were never a tidy person were you?" Campbell asked as he threw the papers to the ground and sat on the chair. He caught his breath and saw that Rose was standing up beside a small desk.

"Where's Naomi?" Meryl asked as she looked out into the corridors through the open door.

"Get the body inside and close the door….she was captured" Campbell replied.

"We need to go and get her, she's been shot too" Mei Ling answered back. "She came for me when I was alone, I'm not…"

"It was just a flesh wound, and I don't think they'll kill her" Campbell replied resting the HKG36K on the carpet floor.

Meryl dragged the dead body inside the room. The cold was getting more and more intense and even Meryl's muscles felt a bit sore now. She then closed the door behind her.

"How can you be sure?" Mei Ling asked.

"Yeah, how sure are you they won't just kill her." Meryl jumped in on the conversation.

Campbell sighed before replying. "Those men, they didn't try to kill me, the man inside the briefing room had ample chance to shoot me, but he didn't. And in the corridor, I fired at them but they didn't return fire. No, Velkan wants me alive" Campbell unbuttoned his suit jacket and then his shirt and noticed he had a large black bruise on his chest.

"That looks bad." Mei Ling said seeing the bruise.

"I think it's time you came clean…" Meryl said. "What's the story between you and Velkan?"

Campbell grunted after noticing that Meryl had no concern over his health. _She doesn't even care…she has changed so much. _"We do have a story but I don't have the disposition to tell it, not right now."

"Well I don't see us getting out of this alive so…" Meryl was starting again but Campbell stopped her by raising his hand.

"I have a plan. First you three get on that vent and get to the cafeteria, you need to move away from this area as they are probably coming in this direction right now"

"What about you?" Mei Ling's question made Campbell rise from the chair. "I'm going to the roof, and turn on the evacuation system. You three are getting out of here"

"No!!" Rose's voice was steady. "I'm not leaving until we contact Jack again" She went around the desk and got close to Campbell. "This entire thing is your fault, we should've obeyed to this Velkan guy in the first place, maybe that way we could've gotten in touch with Snake and Jack…everyone else his safe, but we…we are here with no way to fight back, if they find us they are going to kill us. You said everything was safe, but you lied, you lied!! I'm staying until I can contact Jack and if I die in the process…so be it!!" Rose was breathing rapidly.

"You're right, I lied, and it's hard to forget how to lie. I've done it so many times in the face of danger I start believing it myself. There's no excuse for what I did, but staying here won't get you anywhere. The entire communication system is down, there's no way for us to contact with anyone outside and I have no idea what Velkan has planned for the others that work here"

Rose looked at Campbell's eyes and saw the truth behind them. "What about them?"

"Snake, Otacon and Raiden are continuing the mission, I'm sure of that." He replied putting both his hands on Rose's shoulders. "We have to do our part, you three need to get out of here and if you can, find a way to contact them"

"The enemy is probably near the elevator, you won't get near it" Meryl replied enunciating a flaw in Campbell's plan.

"I'll worry about that when I'm there" Campbell replied taking his hands from Rose's shoulders and picking up the HK G36K. "Take this, you may need it" He handed the weapon to Meryl and then searched the enemy body for extra magazines and gave them to her. "Here, take his radio so you can keep track of the enemy's moves"

"I can't let you do this uncle" Meryl replied.

_She still worries. _Campbell smiled and headed for the door. "If I get to activate the scaffolds, get on them quickly and get out!" He said without turning and left the room.

Meryl stood there as Campbell exited the room and headed towards an uncertain fate. _Uncle…_

* * *

The green plastic cover hid one of the most beloved things by Black Ronin. It was the only thing that made him forget his honor towards the enemy. The large grin on his face soon disappeared as a voice came from his VOXER.

"Marsh, are you there?" Tiger's voice was unmistakable.

"Yes. What is it?"

"Garand's dead! At least I think he is. I've been trying to call him for the past thirty minutes…"

"Black Ronin sighed. "It is unfortunate. He was a great warrior…was it him?"

"Probably…just get back as soon as you can. The operation can't stop now!"

"What about them?"

"Don't worry. If they get here they are not going back alive"

The train began to move. "We're moving now. I'll be there in fifteen minutes, Marsh out" He turned off the VOXER and contemplated the night sky for a minute while his hair ruffled as the night wind passed by. One of his fellow warriors was dead, most likely killed by the same man who had maimed Tiger. _I wonder if I'm good enough to kill hi…_

"Sir! This is the terminal officer. I see a car heading towards the back of the train" The VOXER came back on.

Ronin's grin returned. _Maybe I don't have to wonder. _"Roger that. I'll take care of it" Ronin began running to the back of the train. He opened the door to the passenger train car and saw two men rising from the seats. "We have intruders aboard, stay here and wait for me. I'll go to the back of the train" The two men obeyed nodded. Ronin then reached for his equipment that sat on the first seat. He grabbed something very long wrapped around a black sheath and unwrapped it. It was a sword, a samurai sword with a beautiful, yet simple red case. The handle was dirty red and it had a small decoration, it looked like Japanese symbols.

He took it out of the case and advanced to the back of the passenger train car. After that he opened the passenger train car door and saw the box car door unlocking, Ronin jumped on top of the two car's coupler and before the door opened he trusted his sword into it.

* * *

Snake and Raiden had been traveling for the last forty minutes, the dirt road had ended a few miles back and they were now driving over sand, rocks and sometimes small vegetation, when they glimpsed a small building. It was dark red and seconds later, over the building they saw several train compositions, four to be exact, not counting the steam engine. The train was already moving at a steady speed and before the night came and prevented Snake and Raiden from seeing anything, Snake quickly accelerated. "We need to catch that, if the rumors Robinson heard are true then that train is going to lead us straight into the Aswad territory."

"Got it!!" Raiden replied.

As they rushed past the dark red building, which was in fact a small terminal they saw a large truck far away to the right.

"Did you see that?" Raiden asked.

"Yeah, forget it, we follow the train"

Nothing else mattered at that point, Snake needed to reach the Aswad territory. Not only did he have a mission to accomplish, but he wanted to be sure, sure that Otacon was dead.

The pursuit didn't last much time, Snake and Raiden quickly reached the last composition, which was a large boxcar.

"Can you reach the door?" Snake asked as he got close to one of the compositions side doors.

Raiden quickly reached it and pulled it to the side. Snake had his SOCOM on hand, just in case somebody was inside, but from the first look the composition looked empty. Raiden was the first off the jeep and into the car. "Find something, so I can block the gas pedal!!" Snake shouted at Raiden. A few seconds later, Raiden had some straps on his hand that he carefully threw inside the jeep. Snake blocked the steering wheel and the gas pedal and proceeded to get off the jeep. Once inside, Snake reached for his M4 and shot one of the jeep's tires. It sent it to the side stopping a few feet ahead. Raiden then closed the door.

"Good job!" Snake said.

"Come and see this!" Raiden replied pointing to the beginning of the box car. Several boxes were stacked up, but they weren't strapped down. "I took the straps form there."

"They are large enough for missiles. Wait a second" Snake replied. He then reached inside a small pouch he had on the left side of his equipment and took out a weird goggle. It was a state of the art night vision goggle that was smaller, it covered only one eye, but it had a much higher resolution. Snake put it on over his left eye and saw the inscription on the missile box. "Stingers!" He said as he heard Raiden putting on his goggle.

"What do you think it's for?" Raiden asked.

"No idea." Snake replied.

"Look there's a door here. We can get to the next train car." Raiden got by the door.

"Let's move with caution" Snake advised as he grabbed his M4 and advanced to the door. "I'll take point" Snake said and got ready to move. As Raiden began opening the door Snake felt a small vibration. _The Nanofinder!! _Suddenly a large blade cut through the metal door of the box car.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The walk to 'Elevator One' as Philanthropy staff called it was a trip down memory lane for Campbell. After the frightening discovery that he and his niece, had been working for a 'shadow' Philanthropy he had made everything possible, with the help of Snake and Otacon, to create a new place. A place that could change the world, Campbell grunted at how wrong he was. The place was getting colder, it was about forty five degrees Fahrenheit and the entire floor was completely deserted where Campbell was. _Why Velkan…why now!! _Campbell speculated as he passed by his old office and headed straight into the enemy's mouth.

"Freeze!!" A strange voice shouted right in front of Campbell.

Campbell raised his arms and looked at the enemy in front of him. His eyes were covered by the army mask and his HK G36K was pointed at Campbell's chest.

"If you have a weapon, drop it on the floor now!!"

"I'm unarmed" Campbell replied.

"Then stay put"

After the small talk, the soldier strapped Campbell's hands and grabbed him by the arm. Before they moved the soldier reached for his radio.

"Major, I have apprehended one of them. It fits the description of Campbell." The Major's radio spat out.

Velkan immediately stopped worrying about his headache and got close to the Major. "Bring him here now!" He said to the Major.

"Yes, sir!" The Major replied.

Velkan then looked at Naomi, who stood quiet by the corner near the elevator doors. _No! She's too old._ Velkan wondered about something, something that made him slightly apprehensive. However he would soon find out if his suspicion had any foundation, but before that he would have a talk with Campbell. A talk he had been preparing for some time.

After a minute or so, two men appeared around the corner that ended by the elevator. Naomi was quick to notice the man that came in front. _Colonel! _

"Don't do anything" The soldier by Naomi's side stepped in front of her. "Just keep quiet if you don't want to die"

Naomi obeyed. She stood still watching as Campbell was being led to Velkan.

"Ahh, finally! We meet again!" Velkan threw his arms to the side like he was welcoming an old friend.

"Velkan" Campbell nodded slightly.

"I want some room, Major" Velkan said.

"Right away sir" The Major ushered everyone near the small desk with the laptop on top to move away. The desk was a few feet from the elevator and so it could be used as a private conversation spot.

"This isn't ideal I know but it'll have to do" Velkan said waving his hand at Campbell. "So how do you feel about this cold weather?"

"If you were trying to wear me out it worked because here I am"

Velkan laughed. "Have a seat, my friend"

There was only one seat by the desk and Campbell respectfully replied. "Thank you, but I'm fine" Campbell almost smiled. _Several enemies__…and Naomi, this isn't going to be easy. _Campbell was gathering any information he could about the enemy. He would have to reach the roof somehow.

"Campbell, I insist." Velkan said implying that Campbell should sit down. "You'll want to be sitting down to hear what I have to say."

"Why don't we stop the act Velkan!!?"

"Act!?" Velkan replied coolly.

"You're working for the Patriots aren't you and you've been for quite some time and because you felt like…like you need to …"

"SIT DOWN!!!" Velkan's shout made Campbell open his eyes wide. He looked at Velkan attentively and saw a lethal look in his eye. "Please" Velkan said more quietly.

Campbell complied, he was sure he was right on his guess. Velkan had to be working for the Patriots. Who else could have find out the location of their hideout and who else had the manpower and resources to take Philanthropy by storm.

"Thank you. Now let me start from the top" Velkan had a slight grin on his face. "Remember when we first met, Campbell?"

"Yes" Campbell replied.

Velkan turned around, his back to Campbell, he was remembering it. "The operation in the San Hieronymo Peninsula"

* * *

"Holy…!!" Snake cursed as he began firing at the closed door and the bullets rip through it. The blade retreated immediately and Raiden shut the door in the next second and both retreated a few feet inside the boxcar.

"What the hell was that!!?" Raiden asked.

"The NanoFinder" Snake said.

"Wha…" Raiden reached for his NanoFinder. "…you're right." It's someone from the Black Unit.

"Open the door again, we're going in fast and secure" Snake said as he checked his M4. "Don't go for the kill immediately you hear me Raiden, I don't want to have to rescue your sorry ass again."

"Got it" Raiden replied as he grabbed his M4.

"Keep the night vision on, anything that's not me you shoot" Snake said and quickly reached for the door, he threw it open and pointed his gun. The door to the next car was closed and there was no one in sight. Snake looked up, down to the left and to the right but whoever had been there was now gone. Even the NanoFinder had stopped vibrating. "Let's move" Snake signaled with his hand. They carefully jumped on top of the large coupler and carefully opened the door to the next car. The light inside was too much so they carefully removed the night goggle and packed it. It was a passenger car and it appeared to be empty, the seats had their backs to them so there could be someone hiding behind them. "I check the ones on the left you go right" Snake whispered.

Raiden nodded. "Gotcha!" He said.

Before they could have a chance to investigate any of the seats someone broke through the door on the other end of the transport car. Two enemy soldiers with black apparels were ready to fire.

"Raiden get to cover!!" Snake shouted as he jumped to a seat and took cover as the enemy greeted them with a hail of bullets.

The bullets began to rip apart the seats and even though Snake and Raiden had some protection as the enemy was still a few feet away, the bullets would soon reach them.

Snake responded in the same fashion, aiming at the seat in front of him and firing. The bullets wheezed passed the seat cover, ripping a small hole on it, and hit something metallic but Snake had no idea what it was. Raiden succeeded in firing a few shots too but there's a no way they would hit the enemy like that. "Snake wha…" As Raiden head turned to the left he was expecting to see Snake covering behind the seat cover , but no one was there. Snake was on the floor, crawling slowly toward the end of the car where the enemy was. The gunfire hadn't ceased and with luck he would have the element of surprise. Raiden then moved his head to the floor and saw Snake crawling. _Amazing! I should've thought of that. _The thoughts on Raiden's head were a real matter of concern to him. Even now that he was an experienced soldier, something was lacking. Something that made him be on edge in battle. He had experienced it before, an anxiety that he couldn't explain. Even in this operation he had felt that he had already lost control too many times. Now that he saw Snake, an experienced soldier with a lot less to lose than him, make his unwavering way towards the enemy he wondered if after all that had happened to him, was he worthy to fight alongside such a warrior.

The gunfire halted all of a sudden, Snake saw the bullet casings pass by him as he got closer and closer to the enemy's feet. The enemy on the other hand was waiting to see if Snake and Raiden were still alive. The soldiers carefully began their way towards the end, towards Raiden. Unfortunately for them, Snake was already in the clear. He quickly got up and without much effort he shot down the two enemies.

Raiden left his cover and got close to Snake. "That was…wait…you hear that Snake?"

A repeating sound seemed to be getting closer. Snake noticed an opened window of the transport car and got near it. "I know that noise!"

In the night sky small lights indicated the presence of the enemy.

"Is that…" Raiden gazed outside. "…a Comanche?"


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"You heard him." Meryl engaged the safety on the HK G36K and turned to the other women inside the room. "We need to get moving" She placed the extra clips and the enemy radio on the large pockets of her uniform. "Rose you hear me?"

Rose had her head down. "…"

"Look, I'm not going to tell you it's going to be alright anymore. Instead I'm telling you that if we don't move they'll find us and kill us"

Meryl's words struck a chord. Rose would have to buck up if she really wanted to stay alive and hopefully contact Raiden again.

"Mei, you go first. Take this flashlight so you can guide us" Meryl reached for the flashlight and extended her hand to Mei Ling.

Mei Ling was rubbing her hands together as she took the flashlight. "Ok" She nodded, got up on the desk and awkwardly reached the vent, after all three were inside Mei Ling headed toward the cafeteria following the glowing line with her flashlight.

"It's freezing" Rose, who was behind Mei Ling, pointed out.

"Those bastards!" Meryl cursed. "It shouldn't be too long anyway!"

It took a few minutes for Mei Ling to finally see the end of the glowing line. Below them was the Cafeteria pantry, Mei Ling pushed the vent cover down and without breaking a sweat they were all down. "I think I'll stop wearing skirts" Mei Ling said as she pointed the flashlight around the pantry to locate the door. "This cold is almost unbearable" She turned the door knob and pushed the door open. The cafeteria was a small place. It housed four small tables and a self service counter with a coffee machine and some assorted foods.

"It could get worse" Meryl replied as she rushed past Mei Ling and surveyed the area for any enemies.

"Don't you think she's a bit cranky?" Mei ling whispered to Rose who was feverously rubbing her shoulders. Rose just raised her shoulders.

"We're clear. Now we wait" Meryl said as she reached for the coffee machines. "We can get some hot coffee, it will help"

"I really don't like caffeine." Mei ling replied a she got close to Meryl. "Oh what's that? Meryl, you ripped your vest."

"What?" Meryl took her free hand, since the other was holding the HK G36K, and passed it by the right backside of the vest. It was indeed ripped. _It must have happened in th…_

"Major, this is team two I've found something inside the server room" A voice came from the radio that Campbell had taken from the dead soldier and that was now strapped to Meryl's belt. _Oh, no!_

"The Colonel is busy, right now, tell me what it is?" A voice on the other side replied.

Meryl took out the radio from her belt and raised it to her ear.

"What are you doing, you're not going to answer are you?" Mei ling asked.

"Shush!" Meryl replied.

"It seems to be an access point to the vent system, sir." The radio responded back. "Since the teams were pulled back, we decided to retrieve the bodies and I found a weird piece of cloth on top of a server machine. It has to belong to the staff"

"I'll get the Colonel up to speed, good work. Over and out" A voice on the radio replied and ended the conversation.

Meryl had her eyes wide open in shock. She had left a trace of her presence behind. _Damn, I'm so stupid!!_

"Meryl, what do we do now!?" Mei Ling asked. "Meryl!!"

* * *

"Yeah! That noise is definitely from a Comanche." Snake replied to Raiden.

The noise while still very silent for a helicopter was still audible and soon they noticed that it was coming closer.

"It's coming towards us" Snake pointed out the obvious.

"Snake, look!" Raiden pointed to the side, where the door of the passenger car stood, to the side was a small window and passed it was another train car, an empty train car. "Do you think?"

And without notice they got their response. A rain of bullets like Snake and Raiden had never experienced came crashing onto the passenger car. The XM301 20mm cannon of the Comanche was ripping the passenger car to pieces. The roof was the first to go. Almost every inch of it had a bullet hole. As the Comanche passed by the car Snake and Raiden, who were lying flat on the floor saw an opportunity. "Let's move!!" Snake shouted. He quickly reached for the night vision goggle and ran through the passenger car door to the next car. It was a flat train car. There was nothing on it except a large plastic cover that for sure protected the Comanche before someone took it out for a spin. "We're wide open here!" Raiden shouted through the silent night. "It should be coming back any second"

"Let's move to that car" Snake pointed to another train car that was next to the flat one.

Inside the Comanche Marsh was beaming. He loved the feeling that he had when flying, and even though the Comanche was a fierce weapon he had never used it to kill anyone.

"Tiger! Can you hear me?" Marsh asked through the very large headphones and microphone set he had over his head.

"What's that noise?" Tiger replied.

"I ran into some trouble, they reached the train!" Marsh responded as he circled back across the night sky towards the train. "I got inside the Comanche, I'll see if I can force them out of the train…"

"No!! Kill them now!!" Tiger replied.

"You know I can't!" Mash responded as he saw the train getting closer. He saw two men heading for the secure freight car. _Damn! They can't reach it. _

"Marsh!" Tiger was shouting. "Just kill them"

"No!" Marsh answered.

"Damn you Marsh!!!" Tiger sounded incredibly angry.

"I'll get them don't worry" Marsh said before turning off the radio communication and heading towards the train at immense speed. _Yes…if I do that they won't die…_Marsh had something on his mind as he saw the two men on top of the freight car.

* * *

"San Hieronymo Peninsula!?" Campbell replied as he felt the cold increasing. His hands were starting to shiver uncontrollably. "Of course I remember. That's where I broke my leg" Campbell replied as if mocking Velkan. "Get to the point Velkan… is this about that evaluation?"

"Indeed my friend, it is. The evaluation that cursed me forever." Velkan took his hand to his left scarred eye.

Campbell sniggered. "Save the tears for someone who cares Velkan. That psychic evaluation was mandatory and you failed it."

Velkan turned around and Campbell saw his left eye wide open. The iris was the same color as the other eye but the pupil was different. It was flaring white and together with the scar and the weird grey color of the skin around the eye it made Velkan look like an ancient beast.

Campbell was getting colder by the second, but his heart jumped a few beats as he saw Velkan getting near him. "I found out that several of the doctors asked you about me and I know what you said to them" Velkan got closer to Campbell and his eyes looked him up and down. " 'unbalanced' and 'sometimes overly violent' these were things you said Campbell. It was no surprise that after that I was out of the mission, the mission that made you a hero, the sole survivor of the team. You even came back with a redeemed patriot, Big Boss." Velkan was side by side with Campbell. He bent down so that he could look Campbell in the eyes. "Are you alright Campbell? You seem to be a bit cold"

Campbell was shaking, the cold was getting intense and his clothes were not the best for the cold environment. "Is that it? Are you pissed off because of something that happens God knows how long…"

"YOU DESTROYED ME!!" Velkan shouted.

The soldiers that were several feet away turned around as they heard Velkan shout. Naomi, who was now with her arms around her knees to prevent the heat from escaping, also looked at Velkan and Campbell. _Why is the Colonel here!?...Could it be? _Naomi then looked at the elevator doors and speculated. _The roof. _Naomi's assumption would have to be just that for now she was still helpless and carefully guarded by an enemy soldier.

"Destroyed you!?" Campbell answered. "You did that to yourself. I know what you did after I came back, you took every suicidal mission you could and looked where that took you."

"Oh, so you think you know where that took me do you?" Velkan stood straight and looked down on Campbell. "Why don't you tell me then?" He then crossed his arms.

"I heard that after you almost got killed in a secret op you went off the radar, my guess is you probably got recruited by the Patriots…" Campbell sighed. "…you're just someone they use, there's no honor, no code. The military is like their personal –" Before Campbell could finish his sentence Velkan began laughing. His deep laughter was heard all around the place for a few seconds before Velkan decide to speak again. "You have no idea what I do, do you Campbell? You're in the dark and that for me is the most amusing thing there is." Velkan uncrossed his arms and placed one hand in Campbell's shoulder. "I work in 'The Fiction' my friend." Velkan lowered his head so he could whisper in Campbell's ear. "I was the one who came up with the shadow Philanthropy"


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"What!!?" Campbell raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked straight into Velkan's eyes. "What do you mean, you came up with the shadow Philanthropy… and what is 'The Fiction'?"

Campbell could see by Velkan's smile that the reaction was exactly what he wanted. Velkan then raised his head and reached for his cane that was sitting on top of the desk. He held it in his hands and looked at it intensely. "I like to think that The Fiction is what holds this nation together"

Campbell was puzzled and Velkan loved every minute of it. "I'll explain. As you may or may not know the Patriots have a tight grip on the United States, but they can't keep track of every detail. Even in a modern era as ours, sometimes important things, things that should be kept secret tend to fall through the cracks and found their way to the public. The Fiction takes care of these problems. Things that are seemingly not important are handled by people, normal, upstanding and patriotic people, much like me" Velkan said as took the cane and walked around until he stopped behind Campbell, due to the restraints Campbell couldn't move. He had to stay sitting down hearing what Velkan had to say.

"After I suffered the terrible accident that disfigured me, I was almost demoted. My faith in the military had diminished. Fortunately other people found my qualities to be essential. I was indeed recruited by the Patriots, but not to do wet works. No! I was meant to do bigger things. After I saw what they were offering I just couldn't resist. I was to be in charge of the Military branch of 'The Fiction'. That meant an immense amount of control of several military operations in several countries"

"What does this have to do with Philanthropy?" Campbell asked turning his head to the side.

"Well, the patriots had caught wind of a new NGO (Non Governmental Organization) called Philanthropy that aimed to stop Metal Gear variations throughout the world. Something like that had to be watched over. To make sure that Philanthropy didn't do anything without the Patriots knowing someone had the idea of contributing money to the NGO in hopes to at least have some control over it, but this proved very hard because of Solid's Snake and Otacon's distrustful nature. However I had an idea, a few days of after Philanthropy's formation I made arrangements for the creation of a shadow Philanthropy. It would operate without knowing anything about its sister. In fact the operatives weren't even that, everything was bogus. The U.N. recognizing us was the only thing that took for any person to be interested and so everyone worked under heavily scrutinized conditions."

"You…" Campbell sounded rather agitated. "How could you…how could you keep so many people in the dark. All those operations…"

"Oh please Campbell!!! I was doing what was needed and in fact the shadow Philanthropy really did stop several Metal Gear iterations around the globe. As for keeping people in the dark I think you should ask yourself that.

However wrong it seemed Campbell knew that Velkan was right about this one thing. In the years that he was in the shadow Philanthropy not once did he thought he was working for anything but a true organization.

"Some news was filtered out of course, the Manhattan incident of 2007 and the Big Shell affair in 2009 for example. In fact anything that covered the real Philanthropy was covered and reshaped. And you bought it" Velkan placed his hands on Campbell shoulder and lowered his head to Campbell's right ear. "Face it Campbell you were eating it up and you loved every second of it"

Campbell closed his eyes. _Damn!! How could I have been so gullible! _Velkan took out his hands from Campbell's shoulders and went around him. "I think that's enough, don't you?" Velkan was smiling. "Will you tell your niece to come out and be a good girl or do you want me to come and look for her?"

Campbell quickly raised his head._ He knows Meryl's here. _"She's not coming and if you go out and find her you'll only end up dead"

Velkan's expression changed. "Interesting, you actually believe that! That means you have something up your sleeve and that makes me curious"

"Sir! I'm sorry to interrupt but one of the men found something." The Major was right beside Velkan.

"What?" Velkan replied.

"The vent system sir…"

"What are you talking about, we know that there is a vent system, we saw it in the plans." Velkan snapped back at the Major.

"It's not that sir, we thought they were enclosed, but there seems to be an access point to the vent system in the server room."

Velkan quickly turned his eyes to Campbell. _Could that be it!!_ "That's quite resourceful Campbell"

Campbell made no motion, but he really didn't have to.

_That's not it, is it Campbell? Your heart rate tells me that's not it! It's something…what could it...oh I get it now. _Velkan turned to the Major and whispered to his ear. "Change the radio frequency to a secure one, one of the enemies might be carrying one of our radios" _I should've done it sooner. _Velkan thought as he waited for Campbell's reaction when the Major picked up his radio and said to everyone listening to change the radio frequency to a secure one. _That was it! _Campbell didn't react but Velkan could see something that no one else could.

"Major!" Velkan left Campbell and headed towards the men near the elevator. "Get some men ready to come with me. We are going on a hunt"

* * *

"There's no door!!" Raiden pointed out the train car in front of them had no visible door.

"Crap!" Snake directed his eyes to the side of the train car and saw that it only had a side door. The he noticed some stairs on the train car "Get on the roof. We can get to the engine car." He pointed to the stairs.

Both headed up the stairs, Raiden first, followed closely by Snake while the Comanche got closer to the train. "Snake its coming straight towards us!!" Raiden said noticing that the Comanche was coming head on. "Here!" Snake pushed Raiden to the other side of the train car. A small ledge was all they needed. "Grab on!!" Both grabbed on the ledge of the train car and jumped to the opposite side from where the Comanche was coming. The wind rushed past their faces as they hanged on the side of the train car waiting for the Comanche to pass by. Raiden saw the vegetation by the side of the railroad go by fast, they were cruising at an amazing speed. After the Comanche flew by they got on the roof again and headed towards the engine car. They kept low so that the wind couldn't throw them down. After a few seconds the Comanche was coming again, but this time it was right in front of them, it had creep up on them without they even noticing. It was coming really fast and Snake and Raiden just reacted by lying flat on the roof of the train car. The Comanche rushed past them at an incredible speed and at a very low altitude.

"Why didn't it fire on us!?" Raiden inquired as he lied flat on the train car roof holding his M4 tightly.

"I don't know." Snake replied seeing the Comanche turning around again. "I think it's trying to get us off the train." He said whilst getting on his feet and looking at the Comanche. Snake then reached for his M4 and pointed it to the Comanche. "If he doesn't fire at us then we'll fire at him!!"

Marsh was getting impatient while flying around trying to get them off the train. _They're good! _The next fly by Marsh risked even more by lowering the Comanche further. As he got closer to the train car he saw both men firing their guns. The bullets hit the Comanche, but nothing severe happened. _It's now!! _

Snake saw the Comanche flying even lower than normal. "It's going to hit us!!" Both jump to the side of the train again and waited for the train to go by, but it didn't, instead it flew around the flat train car and was now in front of Snake and Raiden. Its propellers were getting closer to them, they couldn't go up to the roof without getting hit by them, the only way was to let go. "Snake!! We have to let go!!" Raiden shouted through the noise.

"No!! Hold on!" Snake replied and shimmied across the ledge towards the flat car, once he got there he let go and landed safely. He whipped around and took out his M4. He looked inside the Comanche's cockpit and saw, through the night vision goggle the person piloting it. Black hair was covering most of the person's face, but he could discern a look of defiance. Snake didn't hesitate to fire. The bullets hit the cockpit protective glass making several holes on it. Fortunately Snake's fire made the Comanche move away, giving Raiden the chance to go back to the roof. Snake's magazine was empty, so he quickly replaced it. The Comanche however hadn't given up yet. Its 20mm cannon fired furiously and the next thing Snake felt was a sense of weightlessness and then everything went dark.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"SNAKE!!!" Raiden shouted while he saw the incredible scene unfolding in front of him. The derail lasted mere seconds. The flat train car, the transport and the box car, all swerved to the side of the rail road and got on top of one another. Snake had been caught in the middle of it. Could he have survived? Raiden quickly reached for the CODEC to try and reach Snake as the wreckage got further away from the rest of the train. "Snake can you hear me?" The Comanche flew by overhead. _Damnit!!! _Raiden pointed his M4 to the Comanche and started firing. His anger was on each bullet that he fired, but that didn't help his aim.

Marsh was smiling because of what he had just accomplished. _One __down ,__ one to go. _He thought while he saw Raiden's gun muzzle flash. He smiled and then pushed a button to open a communication channel. "This is Black Ronin, train conductor can you hear me?"

It took a few seconds to obtain a response. "I'm here sir" A voice replied.

"I need you to do something"

Raiden was now reloading his gun, he missed the Comanche completely but he wasn't about to give up. He cocked the M4 and got ready to fire again.

"Hey!" A voice came from behind him.

Raiden turned around and before he collapsed he thought he saw a light and a large building in the distance where the train was headed. The next thing he felt was the butt of a gun hitting his face.

* * *

The bullets hit the flat train car, where Snake was standing, and soon he felt that something was wrong. The Comanche's pilot was trying to derail the flat car and without much effort he succeeded. The entire flat car shifted to the right and if flew of the tracks. The railroad was higher than the rest of the terrain and for a fraction of a second Snake was airborne. After that he felt the sand on his face and the rest of the train going over him. Metal clashing into metal right above him made a deafening noise. After a few seconds everything around him was dark and silent. He could feel his head was wet and as he passed his hand by his forehead he felt a liquid. _I'm bleeding…_Snake was breathing heavily, in fact he wanted to close his eyes and rest. He felt that his entire body was weak, something he hadn't felt before. _I can rest for a while…I'm not going anywhere. Yeah I can rest._ Snake rested his head on the sand and sighed of relief. _Just for a minute. _The thought of taking a break was almost too good to be true. His entire life he had never rest, not like normal people anyway. Something inside him made him always alert, even in his sleep he was wide awake. But now the fatigue, it seemed, was forcing him to rest and he liked it. As he closed his eyes he hoped to rest silently, unfortunately for someone like Snake he was never alone in his sleep. The ones that he had killed, the ones he had helped appeared in his mind and as soon as his closest friend appeared the thought of resting disappeared from his mind in a flash. _Otacon!! _He quickly opened his eyes and raised his hands to feel the surroundings. The rubble over him couldn't be moved. He looked left and right and saw no light. _My goggle?_Snake took his hand to his eye and noticed that his Night vision goggle was missing. He also tried to contact Raiden through the CODEC but he couldn't, something was wrong with his CODEC. _Alright then! _Snake forgot about everything else and decided to crawl until he found a way out.

* * *

The walls were large rocks of polished white marble. A large and very wide corridor, with a small bench on the side was the sleeping place of Tiger. He had been resting his head for minutes now. Marsh's last communication had been very troubling and he was now wondering if his plan was crumbling beneath him. The sleep and the subsequent dream could probably shed some light on the manner, but the only dream he had these days didn't bring him any tranquility. Tiger suddenly woke up. _Why? _He sighed and got on his feet. He looked left and right to the corridor. He was always amazed that 'he' had had the vision to build this fortress. He smiled for a second and became serious the next. _No more smiles…I have a job to do._ Tiger thought.

Tiger's VOXER suddenly came alive. "Tiger this is Marsh. I have one of them in custody, not Solid Snake. I tired but I'm not sure if he's alive, out in the desert. Should I…"

"No, let it be, how much longer till you arrive?" Tiger answered.

"We should be there in two minutes" Marsh voice was a bit muffled.

"Are you on the Comanche?" Tiger asked.

"Yes, I'll tell you about it later. But don't worry the essential part is safe" Marsh replied. "What about Solid Snake?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll meet you when the train arrives. Good work Marsh" Tiger signed off. _Are you still alive, Solid Snake?_

* * *

A small piece of cloth was now the cause of Meryl's discomfort. She was not only shivering because of the cold but also because of the anxiety that all three could be found.

"Meryl did heard hearing Mei Ling? What's going on?" Rose placed herself in front of Meryl.

"Just…wait a second! I need to think?" Meryl replied.

"We need to move, get to someplace else" Mei ling advised.

"No!" Meryl was quick to dismiss the idea. "We don't know how many are there or where they are, we have to wait until we hear about their movements on the radio" Unfortunately for Meryl the radio came back on and her plan was shot down instantly.

"To all teams this is the Major change all communications to the secure frequency!" As the radio went silent Mei Ling and Rose looked at Meryl waiting for a response.

"Alright this just got worse" Meryl replied as she placed the radio on one of the small tables and sat down. _What now!? Oh! _Mei Ling and Rose watched as they saw Meryl reaching for the transceiver and connecting through the Colonel's frequency, the transceiver obtained no response.

_Damn! Where is he? _Meryl sighed wondering what had become of her uncle. "Listen I have no idea of what to do next." Meryl said while placing the HK G36K on top of the table.

"Are we just going to stay here?" Rose asked. She got close to Meryl. "It's getting colder by the second" While she spoke, a small cloud of smoke appeared before her mouth.

"I think we have no other way" Mei Ling answered. "We need to wait for the Colonel to activate the scaffolds."

"What if that never happens? Are we just going to wait here, freezing our butts" Rose replied throwing her hands to the side. "Maybe we can get to the elevator, you know, if the Colonel was captured perhaps we can pass by unnoticed"

"Hum, I'm not sure…" Mei Ling was quickly interrupted by Meryl.

"Ok. We'll do it." She responded.

"What?" Said both Rose and Mei Ling.

"We've got no other chance. We need to get out of this place and the elevator is our only option. Rose that's a good idea"

"It is?" She replied.

Meryl picked up the HK G36K and reached for her Colt M1991A1. "Take this" She stretched out her hand to Rose.

"A gun!!" Rose whispered. "For me?"

"It's a good pistol, just point and shoot." Meryl kept her hand stretched until Rose took the Colt. "Just be careful to unlock the safety. And remember, aim small, miss small"

Rose kept looking at the gun as she heard Meryl's words. _A gun…what am I going to do with this…kill?_

"C'mon let's get moving" Meryl said with a resolute tone, held her HK G36K tight and headed for the exit. "I'll take point you'll follow me."

"Wow, I never thought Meryl could look so…butch!" Mei Ling commented as she started to follow Meryl.

The walk unfortunately was cut short because as Meryl opened the door she heard footsteps. _Crap!! _

"Someone's coming!!" She said lowering her voice. "Hurry, hide!!"


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Snake had been crawling for what felt like hours, but in fact only minutes had gone by. He had reached several dead ends beneath the rubble of all three train cars. After all the failed attempts, Snake finally saw a very small light in the distance. _A light, in the night?_ He carefully crawled towards it. Careful was very much needed for several scraps of sharp metal could be on the way and if Snake didn't move slowly and with caution he could wind up with a piece metal stuck on his body. After he cleared most of the rubble he saw the light getting bigger. _It's definitely something big… _Snake crawled, now a bit faster, and after a few seconds he felt the change in temperature in the sand. He was out in the open. Beneath the rubble the sand was several degrees colder than out in the open, even at night. The light Snake saw was coming from the exact place where he needed to go. A large watch tower with a searchlight was the only thing he could discern from what appeared to be a large structure. Snake sighed with relief as he tried again, with no luck, to contact Raiden. He sat down on the sand and made sure all of his equipment was in place. Everything was in order, except for the Night Vision goggle that was missing. After that he attended his head injury, he took out his bandana and tried to look for the source of the blood. A small cut on top of his head was the cause. _It's nothing. _He thought as he placed his bandana on his head again. Unexpectedly the bandanna brought some memories to his mind. He was sitting on a snowmobile in Alaska and Meryl was sitting right behind him. "_Look. I found this__"_ Meryl said as she took out a blue bandana and showed it to Snake. Snake remembered that he smiled and replied. "_Let's keep it. As a reminder__"_

"_Of what? A reminder of a successful mission or the first time we met?_" Snake smiled and for a second he forgot all about his mission. _Meryl! _Snake closed his eyes and visualized Meryl as he had seen her a few days ago before he had been dragged onto this mission. _I'm doing this…for you. And for Otacon!_ Snake opened his eyes, grabbed his M4 and began walking towards the searchlight.

* * *

"Nothing yet sir"

Tiger was walking at a fast pace across a cramped corridor. The walls were made of concrete, so rough and crude you could pull it out with your fingers. "Fine" He replied as he swerved his hair to the side. _Damn lights!! _The lights that lit the corridor were unprotected hundred watt light bulbs. It made it extremely hot. Tiger took out his overcoat, held it with its right hand and felt the heat easing up. "Keep the searchlight on. If you see him near the outer wall, call me" Tiger replied through his VOXER and quickly changed frequencies. "V, it's me. It's up to you now" Then he switched off the VOXER and got by the iron door at the end of the tight corridor. After opening it he saw an engine car. The train stop looked like a small concrete chapel. The train was in the middle. There was a small platform for the passengers to leave and several men in black uniform were unloading the cargo. Tiger noticed that there were only two train cars, the engine one and a freight car. Marsh was leaning on the side wall beside several equipment that was on the floor and a man also sitting on the floor. Phantom was near the men that were unloading the freight car. They were carrying a large dark green box. "Phantom!!" Tiger spoke out getting Phantom's attention right away. He left the men and got near Tiger.

"Is everything alright" Tiger asked Phantom as he diverted his eye to the man sitting on the floor beside Marsh.

"We were lucky, it's intact." Phantom replied. "I've finished all diagnostics on it so all we need now is to wait for the installation to be complete"

"Good, how long will that take?" Tiger asked.

"Two hours, maybe less" Phantom replied.

"Get on it then" Tiger said diverting his eyes from the man and looking to Phantom. "We need to hurry, I feel like something is not right"

"There's has been no developments on it I'm afraid" Phantom said bringing up the fact on the elusive computer files that Ocelot kept encrypted.

Tiger sighed. "Just hurry with your part." He said looking into Phantom's eyes.

"Of course. I'll be right on it…before I forget Tiger. I want to thank you." Phantom said.

Tiger's expression changed. "Thank me?"

"Yes." Phantom nodded. His entire hazmat suit curved as he did. "I never properly thanked you for making me a part of this…this unit"

"Stop" Tiger raised his hand. "Why this now?"

"I believe in you and in your dreams, if you say that something is not right, I take that serious. And with Garand's death I though you should know…"

"Please don't thank me Phantom, and don't resign to something just because I have a bad feeling" Tiger raised his mechanical hand and placed it on Phantom's shoulder. _If he only knew the truth behind how he came to be here…it doesn't matter, it's all in the past now! _After a few silent seconds, Tiger spoke again. "Garand fought to the death, his destiny was his own and the same goes for the rest of us. I'm not going to lose this battle" _If only he knew! _Tiger thought as he hoped his words would echo some sort of confidence in Phantom. "In fact we now have him so maybe luck is in our side." Tiger looked at the man on the floor.

"Ok, I'm off then" Phantom replied. The men carrying the large box were entering the cramped corridor and Phantom followed behind them, Tiger headed towards Marsh.

"You derailed the other cars didn't you, Marsh?" Tiger asked while inspecting the intruder up close. He was gagged. He looked like a young man with blonde hair, but his eyes told otherwise.

"I had no other way Tiger" Marsh replied looking at Tiger. "I kept the essential safe, the Comanche ammunition, missiles and two dead bodies were all that was lost" Marsh replied justifying himself.

"What about him" Tiger looked at the man sitting by the floor. "Why didn't you kill him?" Tiger hoped to see a reaction on the man's eyes but he saw only defiance.

"Because of this" Marsh picked up Raiden's High Frequency blade from the sprawled equipment on the ground. "I'm dying to see if he's any good"

"Not now" Tiger said as he kneeled and looked at the equipment on the floor. "Quite the arsenal!" Tiger picked up the small Night vision goggle with his mechanical hand. "This technology is very interesting" Tiger then looked at Raiden's eyes. He stared at them. "You and Solid Snake came here to kill us" Tiger got closer to Raiden's face, it wasn't a question. "You're not going to make it, you and The Patriots are about to feel the wrath of the Black Unit"

* * *

As soon as Campbell heard Velkan talking with his second in command he knew something was about to happen and that didn't bode well for Meryl and the others. "Velkan!!" He called out. _I need to know what the hell he's going to do… _"Velkan!" He called out again.

Velkan turned to Campbell and saw the panic, not in his eyes but someplace else. "Don't worry Campbell, I'll bring her in one piece" Velkan smiled. "Let's go!" Velkan and three soldiers went into one corridor disappearing from view. The so called Major ordered one of the men to keep beside Campbell just in case he tried something. And something was exactly what Campbell wanted to do. Of course he didn't exactly know what that something would be just yet. He looked around the area. Since Velkan and three other men had gone the place around the elevator was now emptier. Not counting the man that was right by his side there were three other soldiers. One of them was keeping a close eye on Naomi and the Major and the other soldier were talking. _I have to do something…_Campbell looked all around the place in look for a way out of his plastics straps. With his hands tied behind his back he couldn't do much of anything. _Damnit! _Campbell thought as he came to the realization that there was nothing apparent that he could do to get away. And to make matters worse, the cold was getting more intense. Now, with very breath he took, a shot of vapor came out of his mouth. He exchanged looks with Naomi and saw her breathing being faster than normal. It was the first time that Naomi and Campbell were sort of alone. After Snake had rescued her from Washington she had avoided Campbell, she was professional but nothing more than that. Campbell knew that what they had experienced several years ago in Alaska could never be forgotten by either one. However now, in this place Campbell knew that he had to trust her because as the soldier beside him moved to looked behind him Campbell saw it. _That's it…I need to get him by surprise! _It would be dangerous, but the thought of Meryl getting caught by Velkan was worse.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The pain on Raiden's head was easing up, he was gagged and he felt the wind rushing past his hair rustling it across the night. His eyes soon realized where he was. A large cathedral like scenario, the engine car and the freight car were right in front of him, and as he looked to the side he saw the same person that was piloting the Comanche talking to someone inside a very large hazmat suit. He was bound by what he felt to be handcuffs behind his back. He was sitting on the floor and was pressed against a very rough wall of concrete. Raiden quickly looked at his equipment, all scattered on the floor in front of him. He tried to reach his blade, but soon thereafter the man stopped talking to the person inside the hazmat suit and headed towards Raiden. "Trying to get away are you?" The man spoke with a calm and melodic tone of voice. He got beside Raiden and leaned on the wall. "Even if you did, you wouldn't get very far" Raiden stared at the man and saw his clothes. It seemed to be made of very tight black fabric that wrapped neatly around his entire body. His figure was quite slender and, Raiden thought, very agile. "Admiring my body!? It's the body of a warrior such as yourself you think?" He said while swerving his long hair to the side of his face and uncovering only one eye.

Raiden said nothing, even if he wanted he couldn't because of the gag, fortunately he already knew everything he needed to know about the person talking to him. Something the man forgot to take from him, something that Raiden had carefully concealed beneath his sneaking suit and something that denounced the man beside him as a member of the Black Unit. _The NanoFinder! _The little piece of equipment was vibrating furiously on Raiden's left waist side. Suddenly Raiden heard a big rustling noise to the right. His head swerved and he saw a man coming from a large and seemingly heavy iron door. He saw the man looking at him, his eyes were almost piercing Raiden, like he could see what Raiden was thinking. The man headed towards the person inside the hazmat suit and there he stood for a few minutes, before heading towards Raiden.

As the man got closer, Raiden could see several men behind him carrying a large dark green crate. _What the hell is that?_

"You derailed the other cars didn't you, Marsh?" Raiden heard the man ask and he again saw his piercing look.

"I had no other way Tiger" The one called Marsh replied. "I kept the essential safe, the Comanche ammunition, missiles and two dead bodies were all that was lost"

"What about him, why didn't you kill him?" The one called Tiger asked without diverting his eyes from Raiden's.

"Because of this" Marsh replied and Raiden saw him grabbing his blade from the ground. "I'm dying to see if he's any good"

"Not now" Tiger replied and Raiden saw him kneeling down. "Quite the arsenal!" Raiden then noticed him stretching out what appeared to be a mechanical hand and reaching for his night vision goggle. "This technology is very interesting" One more time the man called Tiger looked straight at Raiden's eyes. "You and Solid Snake came here to kill us" He said. "You're not going to make it, you and The Patriots are about to feel the wrath of the Black Unit"

Raiden didn't look away; instead he stood there as rebellious as he could in the situation. "Take him, maybe we can use him" Tiger said as he got up.

"Wait what about me? I want to see if he's any good…"

Tiger rushed his hand and got a hold of the High frequency blade that was on Marsh's hands. "You'll do as I command, need I remind that you may have left the other alive!!" Tiger said with a threatening tone, Raiden even saw his feet move close to Marsh's.

"Very well!" Marsh pulled up Raiden until he got on his feet. "Don't do anything that might kill you sooner…I really want to see what you can do" Marsh whispered to Raiden's ear and then took him out through the iron door.

After Marsh was out of earshot Tiger sighed and punched the concrete wall in front of him. He looked at his mechanical hand and saw small pebbles of concrete dropping to the floor. _This bad feeling…what could it be?_

* * *

Snake had been following the railroad towards the massive building. It seemed to have a great outer wall about thirty feet high. He had kept his gun at the ready in case he saw the enemy coming. A large searchlight was pointing towards Snake's far right, but fortunately the railroad track headed to the left so Snake would follow it wherever it led. Snake was starting to feel thirsty; he hadn't drunk anything since the mission started. It had been Naomi's words who made him feel a bit more relieved. _"Those nanomachines have kept you strong through your coma and hopefully keep you hydrated until the mission is over" _But something, Snake knew, was wrong. His body had felt a bit different ever since he woke up from the coma, his stubbornness was that this had to do with the nanomachines, but Naomi categorically refused the idea. A few more feet ahead, Snake heard a faint noise, of someone panting. His look diverted from the searchlight and the railroad to a few dunes to the far left. His M4 was pointed and ready to fire. He approached with caution.

"She must be near here!" Said a rough voice from across the dunes.

Snake ducked and sneaked to the dunes. He peeked and saw two men with their guns and small flashlights pointed to a small patch of dunes to their right._XM177's. _Snake saw their weapons glistening in the light. He was getting ready to move on them, but before he could he noticed, from the corner of his eye, something moving beside him. Someone was running right beside him. As quickly as he could Snake grabbed the person. Snake threw whoever it was to the ground and quickly groped in the dark for the person's mouth. He passed his left hand over what felt like soft clothes, then long delicate hair, then a silky smooth skin and finally the mouth. "If you don't want to die keep quiet!" He whispered to the person, who from the clothes and skin had to be a woman. Snake felt her nodding fervently and then waited until he heard the enemy soldiers move away. "I'm going to take my hand off, if you make a sound, I'll shoot you"

The woman grunted as Snake pressed his M4 to the woman's stomach. Then he took his hand off her mouth and heard small whimpers of fear.

"Who are you?" Snake's voice was low, but gruff.

"My, name is…" Before she had finished the sentence, Snake immediately noticed that he had heard the voice before. _That woman!_ "….Susanne Sonders and I'm with the United Nat…"

"It's me!" Snake interrupted. "The man on Otacon's CODEC!"

"You!? You're Solid Snake." The woman replied now trying to get on her feet.

"Don't get up yet, I can still see their lights. Stay down!" Snake said as he felt Susanne moving. "What are you doing here? How did you escape? Where's Otacon?" Snake had a ton of questions that he wanted answered, but Susanne only answer was a sigh. "Didn't you hear me?" Snake got a hold of Susanne's shoulder and shook it.

"Hey!!" Susanne replied. "Stop that!" Her voice rose in tone.

"Answer me, where's Otacon?" Snake got closer to Susanne's face and his voice sounded rougher.

"I already told you he's dead!" Susanne seemed to be talking like she was forced to. That wasn't far from the truth as Snake was gripping her shoulder really hard with his left hand.

"Where's is body?" Snake asked letting go of Susanne's shoulder.

"I…I left it behind, I couldn't bring him with me!!" She replied as Snake heard her massaging her shoulder.

"What about his CODEC?"

"Sorry!! I lost it!"

"Damn! But how did you get away? Is there any way in?" Snake said while he threw a new look to the searchlight and the railroad. "Did you see a train going in somewhere?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, I heard it actually. But that's not where I got away" Snake heard Susanne taking a load of and sitting on the sand. "I…I was afraid, very afraid. This one guy was what made me get away. I had managed to get out of the basement where I was held captive, with Otacon. The guard was sleeping" She said clearing any doubts that Snake might have had on how Susanne was capable of getting away. She took a deep breath before continuing "After that I headed for a big gate I found, near the defense wall. I saw two guards near it playing cards…" Susanne sighed. "Every second I spent in the open I thought I would get caught and killed, but then…then I saw this person, he looked like something out of a fairy tale. The two men called him 'V' and I saw him picking up the two guards with his arms and lifting them up from the ground like they were rag puppets. He took them away, so I made a run for it, it was only after I had left that I heard two other guards shouting at me. And that's it basically. I heard a train moving in the distance to my left but I don't exactly know where it is. Following that I ran and ran until you found me"

Snake grunted. "This gate, is it well guarded?"

"Two guards near the outer wall and two guards inside"

"How did you open the gate?" Snake asked.

"I didn't. Before the guards were attacked by the man called 'V' they had opened it. I think he was coming into this area"

_Coming here…they think I might still be alive. _"This 'V' guy? Could it be him…" _Vamp!! _"…but Raiden killed him" Snake talked to himself while he looked at the searchlight and the railroad. "Come on, we're following the rail road inside that place"

"What!!" Susanne raised her voice. "Are you crazy!? I'm not going back there!"

"Yes you are you're telling me where Otacon is" Snake got a hold of Susanne's arm.

"Let me go…do you know how hard it was to leave him…I…I liked him!! But I can't go back" Susanne pulled her arm hoping to free herself from Snake's grip.

"I'm sorry but you have to do this, you have to help me?"

Susanne was now crying and for Snake Otacon's death now seemed more real, someone had actually seen his dead body and was in tears because of it. _Damn! Otacon…_

* * *

Marsh kept glancing at Raiden and he noticed it. W_hy does he keep starting at me? _They had just left the train hangar and were now traversing the corridor, that seemed to be going up.

_I wonder how good he is. _Marsh thought before he saw the exit door.

Marsh was pushing Raiden out the door and soon both were enveloped by a slight breeze. They were in the open. From Raiden's perspective it was like a very large and open area with several tents around. There were several jeeps to the right and a big watchtower. To the left there were several more tents, a large gate in the distance and a guards' house close to it.

"We are looking for your friend's body." Marsh said as he pushed Raiden further.

Several soldiers were sleeping on tents as others cleaned their guns. For Raiden it was obvious they were getting ready for something. As they pressed on further into the open area Raiden began to discern more of the place, there was a large building in front of him, no doubt it was where Marsh was taking him and to the left of the building was a very tall and large hangar.

"That's our command post!" Marsh said pointing at the building.

The windows were protected and as such not very much light came out, which almost gave the impression, from the distance and at night that the building wasn't there. Before they entered, Raiden saw the Comanche. It had landed to the right next to the building.

Another push through another door and they were inside, well sort of. A small room separated the main door, from the actual building. There was large window on the side wall, and on the other side of it was a security guard. As he saw Marsh he opened the second door. Marsh was ready to resume his walk, but someone was standing on the second door entrance and that someone had stopped Raiden dead in its tracks. _You!! You're dead!!!_


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The footsteps were getting closer to the cafeteria, Meryl had pushed both Mei Ling and Rose to the pantry. "Stay here, if anything goes wrong get on that vent and get the hell out of here!" Meryl talked fast and kept her voice low, the cold was now greater than it was before.

"What about you?" Rose asked through shivering lips.

"I'll be fine" Meryl replied and quickly got out of the pantry and closed the door behind her.

"Meryl!" Rose almost shouted, but she knew that someone was coming.

"Let's stay back here" Mei Ling said as she pulled Rose into the back of the pantry.

Meryl ran as silently as she could to get behind the small self service counter. There, she got the G36K ready to fire and waited. Her breathing was faster than usual, the cold was not helping the situation.

Velkan was the first inside the cafeteria area and right away he knew what was expecting him. He turned to the three men that were covering the rear. "Stay here, in case someone tries to escape, but don't kill anyone. One of these girls is Campbell's niece." All the men nodded in agreement. Velkan turned his head to the Cafeteria. His left and scarred eye was wide open as he surveyed the room left and right. _Damn these headaches!! _Velkan head was throbbing and he knew perfectly why, since the mishap it had always been like this, whenever he opened his left a few minutes later a massive headache would appear. It was only a matter of time and fortunately he didn't need much to find out exactly what he wanted. _There. _Velkan sneaked quietly towards the counter.

Meryl had kept silent for the time, she had heard the same voice that appeared on the VA system before talking to someone else and after that complete silence. She wanted to risk taking a peek but if the man saw her, a fight would surely break out. _I have no other choice. _Meryl thought and as she got ready to raise her head one massive hand went over the counter and grabbed her neck. "AHHHH!!!" Meryl screamed as she felt the air thinning. The G36K dropped to the floor and she took her hands to her neck, trying to break free from the enemy's grip. Velkan picked up Meryl like she was nothing, she then threw her towards the pantry door. Meryl felt a pain on her back like she had never felt before and the wooden pantry door was shattered.

"AHHH!!!!" Meryl screamed in pain.

"Yes!! Scream! Make your friends know my strength" Velkan said out loud.

Meryl took some time to get accustomed to the pain. With the cold it seemed that the pain was longer than normal. She soon focused her eyes and saw two legs and a cane in front of her. A large black man with a black army uniform was walking slowly towards her. Meryl looked at his face and saw the scarred tissue around his left eye.

"Indeed!!" Velkan said as he noticed the woman on the ground looking at his eye. "This eye is what made me come to you" Velkan said reaching for Meryl with his left hand. Meryl tried to fight back, she placed her arms in a defensive position, but Velkan pushed the two arms aside with no trouble at all and soon he had grabbed Meryl by her neck again. "Your quite the hunt I have to say" Velkan pulled her closer to him. "I could break that scrawny little neck of yours if I wanted…but I want you to die by your uncle's side. Now will you be so kind and tell those two inside the pantry to come out"

Meryl opened her eyes wide wondering how Velkan knew that the two were inside the pantry.

"Oh, of course you don't know yet!! You see, this eye is special" Velkan said as she saw the look of bewilderment in Meryl eyes. He pulled Meryl right next to his face so she could see it clearly. The cornea was white as a blinding light. "I can see through everything!!" Velkan said.

* * *

Campbell went over the motions time and time again. _It has to be perfect, but this temperature…my moves will be stiffed. Damn, no matter I have to do it. _Campbell was sure this was the best chance he had. First he had to wait for Naomi to look at him, and then he could proceed. Since Naomi was trying to keep the cold at bay she wouldn't glance anywhere so Campbell decided to break the ice. "Hey can I have a glass of water?" The soldier right next to him turned to Campbell and swiftly replied. "Shut up!" He then looked away from Campbell.

Naomi, who had her head almost totally concealed between her knees lifted it up and looked at Campbell.

Campbell looked at her and without vocalizing he said. "ELEVATOR" Naomi raised her eyebrows and wondered what the Colonel had meant. _What is he up to? _Naomi was about to shake her head in disagreement when Campbell made his move.

He was swift and even though he knew perfectly well that the cold would cramp up his already old joints the soldier was completely caught off guard. Campbell had gotten up from the chair he was in, with his hands behind his back he reached for the knife strapped on the guards back. He slid it out from its protection with his left hand and immediately cut its plastics straps. The guard turned abruptly with his gun at the ready, and Campbell knew that he had failed. The guard knocked Campbell down with an elbow blow. The knife dropped from Campbell's hands as he freed himself from the plastic straps. As the guard pointed the gun at Campbell he knew that it was over. _I blew it…I won't get to the roof…We are going to die here. _Campbell thought as he looked at the barrel of the machine gun.

"What's going on?" The Major got near the scene with another soldier by his side.

"He got my knife." The soldier pointing the gun at Campbell replied.

"Quite feisty for an old man!" The Major replied. "Get him up" The Major ordered the man pointing the gun.

He obeyed and as soon as he lowered his gun he extended his arm to help Campbell up, unfortunately for him something was happening behind everyone's back.

* * *

Naomi had kept quiet as she saw Campbell trying to break free, but his attempt failed. It was only after he saw two guards getting closer to Campbell, who was being threaten by a third soldier that she realized that she could do it. The soldier guarding her was looking at the scene a few feet away giving her an opportunity. Naomi got up silently and immediately felt the chilling cold across her body. Without hesitation she pressed the elevator button and to her surprise the doors opened. The sound it had made alerted the soldier a few inches next to her. He turned around and saw Naomi getting inside and pressing the roof button fervently.

"Hey!! You can't do that!!" The soldier shouted and got inside the elevator, as he was about to raise his weapon, Naomi acted. A quick motion of her leg and the soldier cried out in pain. "That's a low blow lady!!" The soldier dropped his gun on the elevator ground. Before the doors closed Naomi thought she saw a faint smile on Campbell's face. Somehow, in an unplanned way his plan had worked. But Naomi was going on the elevator with an enemy soldier and even after she picked up his gun she didn't feel safe. _What have I done?_

* * *

Cold, lack of air, pain throughout her entire body and general amazement. That's how Meryl felt at the sight of Velkan's remarks. "It's obvious that people don't often believe me, but you better be sure it's the truth"

Truth or not it didn't matter to Meryl, she was in a bad situation and she couldn't let it go on. She again tried to loosen Velkan's grip with her two hands but the strength was leaving her. _I…need air. _Meryl grunted but Velkan's grip was not easing.

"You can't breathe now can't you my dear? Don't worry I just want you to lose conscious, so it'll be over soon" Velkan said as he saw Meryl's eyes closing.

"Meryl!" A voice came from the other side of the pantry door.

"Ahh!! Your two friends are next!!" Velkan smiled as he spoke.

Meryl felt her body going limp. She was starting to feel better. _No! I can't lose consciousness…I can't!!_ Before she lost her senses she gathered what little will power she had and without really thinking about it she punched Velkan in the face. For Meryl it felt like hitting a rock, but afterwards she knew she had struck a weak point. The grip loosened and Meryl fell to the ground.

"You bitch!!" Velkan bellowed. He took his free hand to his left eye. Meryl had struck it. "Get in here!! Kill them all!!!" Velkan was retreating towards the door, walking in a funny way. Suddenly Meryl saw that he was accompanied with three men and their guns were ready to fire. She glanced to the right and saw the G36K on the ground. She crawled to it as fast as she could and grabbed it.

"One of you shoot the pantry!!" Velkan shouted commands.

_No! _Meryl thought. A hail of bullets pierced through the shattered wooden door. "NOOOOO!!!" Meryl screamed.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

The fortress wall was getting closer, but Snake still saw no clear means of entering. Susanne was behind him panting severely.

"Are you okay?" Snake asked.

"I don't know, I feel tired and I think I have a nasty wound on my leg, but I can't see anything in this dark" Susanne replied.

"I know" _I could really use that night vision goggle now. _This seemingly innocent thought took Snake back a few hours in time, a time where Otacon was still alive and well, before the transport plane, carrying Snake and Raiden took off. Otacon had come aboard to give them something. He had been developing a new kind of special vision goggles, and he gave a prototype to Snake and Raiden. _"I__'m__ trying to find a name for it but I'm undecided between __Hal Vision__ and Solid__Eye."_ Otacon said before saying his goodbyes.

_"Hey! What about Raiden__Eye!"_ Raiden said as he took the goggle from its small pouch and looked at it.

_"I've got seniority__"_ Snake replied jesting. _"Well, take c__are of yourself out there Otacon__"_

_"Stop worrying__ jeez."_ Otacon said. _"Good luck you two__"_ Otacon turned away and left.

That was the last time that Snake saw him. "How was he?" Snake asked breaking the night silence.

"What?" Susanne replied.

"Otacon? Before he died, how was he?" Snake asked. Something inside him wanted to know what had happened in the final moments.

"He…he was fine, I think. It's funny you know. He looked at me differently" Susanne replied.

"Huh! What do you mean differently?" Snake asked, wondering what Susanne had meant.

"Well…you know. He liked…ouch!!" Susanne raised her voice.

"What?" Snake quickly turned around and tried to find Susanne in the dark.

"I lost one of my shoes and I stumbled on the track" She replied. "I'm fine"

"I hadn't noticed! The tracks are turning farther to the left, but we're still a bit far from the outer wall" Snake replied sensing the track with his feet. "Let's go, we need to get to end of this line" Snake resumed his stride, closely followed by Susanne.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything of interest to say about Hal, it's just I didn't have enough time with him" Susanne said.

_Hal! _"Right, I understand - And what about the bomb? How did you survive?" Snake asked.

"Oh! The bomb…"

"What, you don't remember?" Snake enquired.

"No, it was him Otacon, he protected me. Even the blue helmets that were with me died"

"I see" Snake replied whilst suddenly noticing something weird in the terrain. It appeared to be a slope of some kind. "Be careful here, the terrain seems irregular" He advised Susanne. As they progressed further down the slope of sand, Snake began to discern what looked like stars at ground level. _What the hell!! _A few seconds later he noticed that the stars were regular. _Lights!! It's a tunnel._

"Look! A tunnel!!" Susanne pointed out.

"It must be where the train goes" As both proceeded further down and into the tunnel they soon realized it was several feet tall.

"We better be prepared, do you know how to shoot a gun." Snake asked as he reached for his old, but always reliable, SOCOM.

"I've had some training" Susanne replied.

Snake and Susanne were almost reaching the lights area. As soon as Snake could discern the ground he was stepping on, he turned to Susanne. He had not been ready for it. The voice clearly didn't belong with the face, perhaps it had been because of the dire situation she was in that made her talk the way she talked. _She's beautiful!_

"Wow!! You look like crap!" Susanne said as she saw Snake come into view. "You face is all bloody"

Snake passed his hand over his forehead and then brought it to view; he noticed a thick layer of blood. "It's dry! The wound is probably closed by now" Snake peeled off the rest of the dry blood from his face. The next thing he did was to check his SOCOM and then handed it to Susanne. "Just point and shoot" Snake said. "Let's go" Both proceeded forwards. The tunnel curved a bit to the right a few feet ahead, so they had to be extra careful. However Snake could not forget so easily the fact that the woman beside her was so beautiful. "I'm sorry but why would such a beautiful woman be working for the UN out on the field" Snake asked wondering if the question was too bold.

Susanne sniggered. "Huh…I…I used to work in the Security Council but I got fed up pretty soon. All they do is talk and don't do much of anything. Here in the field I can…I can help."

"Who, of the sixteen members did you work with, the French?" Snake asked as the curve came up.

"Ahh, yes I did. After all, it is my first language" Susanne replied.

Snake suddenly held his hand up making Susanne stop. "We've got some company ahead"

* * *

The elevator stopped. Naomi had kept the G36K pointed at the solider kneeling down in front of her. The blow that Naomi had dealt to his lower regions was still hurting it seemed. She had also removed the radio and the knife from the soldier and had placed both items on one of her lab coat's pockets. The doors began to open, and Naomi quickly pressed the red stop button to hold the elevator on the roof. The sun was high, and the light and warmth filled up the elevator. Naomi sighed as she felt her body getting warmer. "Get out!" She asked as she firmly grabbed the gun and pointed at the soldier's head.

"Hang on just a sec okay…I've got a few problems here!" The soldier replied with a pain in his voice.

"I'm sorry about the kick, but I need to get out." Naomi said hoping that she wouldn't have to fire the gun.

"Alright, fine! The soldier got to his feet and without notice a massive growl erupted from his lower chest area. "Uh-oh, my…I knew it. I knew this was going to happen" The soldier kept mumbling as he left the elevator, Naomi followed behind. She breathed the outside air and felt immediately at ease. The ground was comprised of small pebbles and there were several chimneys across the entire roof. It was an enormous roof, and fortunately for Naomi she saw the enemy first. "You, duck now!!" Naomi said raising her voice. The soldier dropped to the ground holding his gut. More or less in the middle of the roof, sat an enormous helicopter and someone was pacing around it. _What do I do now? _Naomi asked herself in sight of the dire situation. _The controls are there. _Naomi turned her eyes to a small panel on the ground, near a roof ledge a few feet away from the helicopter. _He'll see me._

"Hey lady, can I get up now?" The soldier asked.

"Shut it!" Naomi snapped at him, threatening him with the gun.

However it seemed the problem had resolved itself. Naomi saw the man circling around the helicopter reaching for the radio and then quickly getting inside the helicopter, a few seconds later the helicopter blades began spinning. _I may have a chance yet. _"Alright, as soon as that helicopter leaves we're moving. You in front and I follow. Got it?" Naomi gently pushed the barrel to the soldier's back.

"Got it" The soldier replied in a mocking tone. "Wait…did you just say as soon as that helicopter leaves'"

"Yes. Why?" Naomi asked puzzled.

"Not good, reach for my radio and tune it to frequency 144.75. "Hurry!"

Somehow, Naomi knew that the soldier was genuinely afraid of something. She carefully reached for her radio while the helicopter was starting to lift the ground. She tuned it to the right frequency and heard.

"…right I'm lifting up now. Hey you got that gun ready?" It seemed to be the helicopter pilot's voice.

"Yeah, sure thing" A voice far away said.

"Good, let's get this done. This roof is going to become a warzone. Over and out" The pilot said and the communication was cut off.

Naomi glanced at the helicopter, now airborne and saw its side door opening. A man was manning a large gun.

"Oh god!"


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Helplessness, it was what Mei Ling and Rose felt in sight of Velkan's brutality towards Meryl. He had thrown her into the pantry door, and subsequently shattered it leaving a small hole for Rose and Mei Ling to see what was happening outside. Velkan was now holding her by the neck and talking to her.

"We have to do something!" Rose whispered to Mei Ling.

"No! You heard what she said. We need to get out of here!" Mei Ling replied as she groped in the dark for something to facilitate the entry in the vent.

Rose got near the small hole and saw Velkan's massive figure holding Meryl like she was nothing.

"You can't breathe now can't you my dear? Don't worry I just want you to lose conscious, so it'll be over soon" Rose heard Velkan say.

_No! _"Meryl!" Rose raised her voice trying to stop Velkan. She was about to open the door when Mei Ling stopped her.

"Listen to me!! We need to get out of here now so we can help her later." Mei Ling pulled Rose to a small pile of boxes she had stacked up. "Get up there!"

"You bitch!!" Rose turned around as she reached for the vent and looked at the door. The scream had come from Velkan. Rose knew that from the sound of it Meryl was fighting back.

"You see, she's a fighter!" Mei Ling said hoping to tranquilize Rose. "C'mon move"

Rose was now inside the vent again, the cold inside was enormous. The walls of the vents even had water all around them.

Mei Ling was struggling to get inside the vent. Even with Rose's help, the light was very dim and the boxes below were starting to shake.

"One of you shoot the pantry!!" Velkan shouted and Mei Ling panicked.

The boxes left her two feet and she was dangling from the vent opening, she was trying the best she could to get up, but with no foothold it was simply not possible.

Bullets began to rip apart the pantry door and Mei Ling saw the light entering through the holes. _Is this it!? _Mei Ling didn't see her life flashing through her eyes, she felt a strong pull and afterwards everything was dark and cold.

* * *

"Shalashaska!" Marsh said noticing Ocelot by the door. "Why are you here?"

"I've come to see how the preparations are going and to see how you've kept this place" Ocelot began walking towards Marsh. "And where are you taking him?"

"Sorry, but I can't say – you do remember that Tiger is the one in charge here"

"I wouldn't dream of usurping Tiger's rule over this place"

Raiden noticed that Ocelot looked different, a bit older and with a new set of clothes. A brown suit was underneath a large brown overcoat. And his hair looked whiter than usual.

Ocelot got closer to Raiden, his face right besides Raiden. "Snake missed his target the last time we met, like he always does." Ocelot whispered so to prevent Marsh from hearing it.

"What's this about?" Marsh asked.

"Nothing!" Ocelot said, moved away from Raiden and looked at Marsh. "Just keep him under your eye, Black Ronin" Ocelot moved to the exit door.

_Damn you!! __Liquid!! I'll kill you for what you did to me? How you tricked me in doing your biding._ Raiden almost freed himself from Marsh's hold.

Marsh tightened the grip. "Stop!!" Marsh held Raiden back.

Ocelot had stopped moving. Without turning he started to laugh. "The boy is clearly upset. You all know where he came from, a child soldier, a killer with no sense of reality. He's just trying to break free of his memories.

_Damn you!_ Raiden thought making a move towards Ocelot, but Marsh intervened. He had placed his leg in front of Raiden and he felt flat on the floor.

"Tell Tiger that Phantom is almost ready. In a few hours we should be ready" Ocelot said before leaving to the courtyard outside.

"That was interesting!" Marsh replied as he helped Raiden up.

Raiden mumbled through his gag, he was desperately trying to say something.

Marsh pushed him through the second door. "Be quiet!!" Marsh pushed Raiden harder and soon they were inside a massive entrance hall.

* * *

_Good one Naomi! _Campbell saw Naomi looking at him as the elevator doors closed. His plan hadn't worked exactly as he wanted, but the outcome was the same, someone was going to the roof. _Only a few minutes now, and the scaffolds will be activated._

The Major had whipped around as soon as he heard the soldier that was now a prisoner of Naomi, shouting. "Damnit!" He cursed. One of the soldiers ran towards the elevator and frantically pressed the call button.

"It seems that Velkan has a problem now doesn't it?" Campbell said hoping to antagonize the enemies further.

The next thing Campbell saw puzzled him. The Major quickly turned around and did a swift motion with his arm. His palm was open and he thrust it forward, hitting nothing but air. Campbell soon realized that the Major was special because a millisecond later after the Major motioned his palm Campbell felt a large pain in his face, like he had just been slapped. _What the!! _

"This is just a small inconvenience; I'm more worried about the competence of my men than what you think that woman will do. We have the roof covered and the basement, she can't get away" The Major said and took a few steps away from Campbell.

_It is as I thought, they didn't know about the vent system so they don't know about the scaffolds. _Campbell had accomplished a small victory against a larger foe, but Meryl and the rest were still in danger. Velkan had been gone for quite some time. Had he found them, or were they still safe? The sound of gunfire in a far away area of the floor alerted Campbell. _Meryl!! Please don't die on me!!_

* * *

"Bastards!!" Meryl's scream sent her into a raging mood. She got out behind the protective counter and shot at the first enemy she saw. He fell flat on the floor and Meryl got behind the counter again, breathing fast. The two soldiers retreated with Velkan outside of the room. "That bitch!" Velkan cursed as he leaned on the wall of the outside corridor.

"Sir is everything alright we heard gunfire!!" The Major's voice came through Velkan's radio.

"It's nothing, why did you call?"

"We have a problem on the roof!"

"Keep that wretch inside I have to deal with this!" Velkan took his hand from his left eye and motioned it towards the cafeteria door. The two men obeyed and placed themselves one on each side of the door. They began firing; suppressing Meryl's chances to get out or to even fire a shot. Velkan walked away from the area and then answered the radio.

"What are you on about?" Velkan asked as he tried to assess the situation of his injury, it seemed okay.

"The Doctor, Campbell distracted us for a second and the doctor escaped. She caught the elevator up to the roof" The Major replied on the other side of the radio.

"There's nothing up there…or…is it?" _Maybe Campbell as something else __up__ his sleeve. _"Major?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Call the men on the helicopter. Make sure they kill anyone up there. I don't want any more surprises like those vent access points" Velkan replied as he closed and opened his left eye in rapid succession, just to make sure is vision was perfect.

"Right away sir" The Major responded and Velkan disconnected.

"Sir!!" One of the two men beside the cafeteria door, shouted. Velkan turned around and heard him shouting again. "She's out of bullets"

Velkan smiled. _This time I won't underestimate her._"It's time to have some fun!"


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Tiger had taken all of Raiden's equipment to his room and had placed them on a small empty desk. It was dark like usual and Tiger was sitting on the bed, his overcoat sprawled across it beside. Tiger was remembering the past, he had been a desk worker for many years and he vowed never to do it again. But more and more, he thought, the battle was fought behind desks. Men and women with incredible power ruled Nations with a single click of a mouse. With a simple electronic message war could erupt. _Salil was right, maybe it is as I see it in my dreams. Ocelot, are you really helping me?_ Tiger suddenly heard is VOXER coming on. "Tiger, it's me. The terminal" The voice was soothing to Tiger and the words were like candy in his mouth.

_At last! _Tiger replied. "I'll be there soon."

"Just give me a few minutes Tiger."

"Very well" Tiger replied, grabbed his overcoat and headed out of the room.

* * *

The massive like cathedral space was occupied by two standing guards. Snake could already see the two train cars. On the back of the closest train car, Snake could see remains of the coupler that belonged to the flat car, the one that he was travelling before derailing. Susanne was bringing up the rear, quiet. Snake stopped behind the freight car. "Are you ready? We need to take them down silently" Snake jerked his head towards Susanne's hands that held the suppressed SOCOM. "Are you ready?"

"Humm, yeah. I am" Susanne replied with a strong nod.

"Good" Snake said and moved to the left, beside the freight car. He had his M4 ready to fire. The soldiers had no idea that someone was there, just a few feet ahead of them. Snake kept crouched behind the freight car as he crept towards the front of the train, something that looked like a ladder was to his left on the wall. As soon as he reached the engine car he saw a soldier coming into view. _Now! _Snake instantly took aim and fired. A shout from the soldier alerted Snake to move fast, he rushed past the engine car and saw second guard trying to reach for his weapon, but it was already too late for him. A few well placed shots were all it took. Snake then proceeded carefully towards the area in front of the car, several lights were up on the roof high above and the walls were made of rough concrete.

"You killed them" Susanne said unperturbedly.

"That door" Snake pointed at a small door to the side made of iron and apparently closed. "That should be the exit, right?" Snake took a few steps towards the door and then turned to Susanne.

_Huh!_ The truth was right there in front of him. Susanne was holding the SOCOM with her right hand and pointing it at him. The top lights now made it possible for Snake to see a small tattoo on her leg, a tattoo that revealed who she really was. She was wearing a skirt that had several rips on it, a large one uncovered most of her right leg and that made it possible for everyone to see the mark of those who belonged to the Black Unit.

_She is one of them! Then my NanoFinder has to be busted._

"Yes, Solid Snake" Susanne replied with no accent and with a grin on her face as she saw Snake in the iron sights of the SOCOM. "There's no exit for you today"

"So you're one of the Black Unit" Snake said calmly as he looked at Susanne's beautiful face.

"Drop your weapon on the ground" Susanne commanded.

"You're lucky." Snake replied.

Susanne looked confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"This!" Snake reached for something on his equipment, he did it carefully to make sure Susanne didn't fire. "It's called a NanoFinder and it's used to track down people that have been injected with particular Nanomachines, just like you." Snake dropped the NanoFinder on the ground. "Fortunately for you I must have damaged it earlier…"

Susanne grinned. "You know, you're a real piece of work. You really don't know how to treat a lady" She took a step towards Snake. "I think you damaged my shoulder when you grabbed me. But that's exactly why I didn't take the more direct approach"

Snake raised his eyebrow. "Direct?"

"Yes, you know. Try to seduce you. Instead I opted to get your sympathy by associating me with your fallen friend, Otacon" Susanne took another step towards Snake.

"Is he really dead?" Snake asked hoping to hear some good news.

Susanne smiled. "You didn't believe me? Well, I guess you'll never know then. Now, put the gun on the ground!"

"So what's your real name?" Snake asked, again not obeying Susanne.

"Well you remember when I told you about this man called 'V', the one who picked up the soldiers like they were rag puppets. It was really something out of a fairy tale like I told you. I am 'V'."

_It wasn't Vamp, so Raiden must have really killed him. _Snake thought.

"Actually, my code name is Black Violet." Susanne took another step in the direction of Snake. "I'm not going to tell you again to drop your gun" Black Violet coked the SOCOM and aimed it at Snake's head. "And by the way, I still have Otacon's CODEC, it's very much like our VOXER's, which I didn't bring. I always go…'naked' into a mission, it's much more…exciting!" She raised her left hand and turned on the CODEC. "Tiger, it's me. The terminal" She smiled. "Just give me a few minutes Tiger" She then took her hand from her ear.

_I got to hurry. _Snake thought and immediately spoke. "I don't have much time then" Snake reached for his M4 and pointed it at Black Violet.

She was faster, but as she pulled the trigger no shot was fired. _What the!? _She thought as she saw Snake reaching for his SOCOM and ripping it from her hands.

"Huh!" Susanne grunted amazed.

"I took the bullets out of the magazine before I gave you the gun!" Snake said ejecting the empty magazine and let it fall to the ground. "Now stay put and don't even think about it" Snake said as he noticed Black Violet glancing at one of the downed soldier's weapon.

"How!?" She asked.

"Too many inconsistencies, even though your beauty is a plus, you're no Mata Hari. My doubts began as soon as I found you. Your clothes, hair and skin were just too pristine for someone who had survived a bomb strike. Your French accent was definitely weird too and when you talked about Otacon you called him Hal, but when I asked you something that you weren't prepared for, you called him Otacon" Snake reached for one extra magazine and placed it on the SOCOM. "You kind of pushed it when you lied about working with the UN Security Council. You should never lie about what you don't know about. The UN Security Council is comprised of fifteen members not sixteen" Snake holstered his SOCOM and looked deep into Black Violet's eyes.

"You bastard!" Black Violet replied. "Your suspicions go a long way back, why the show?" She looked extremely aggravated.

"If I came with you I was sure I'd have my way cut out for me, until you betrayed me of course. I have to say your reaction to me killing some of your men was unexpected"

"I've seen many men die, most of them by my hand." She replied.

Snake grinned slightly. "C'mon, were going up those stairs" Snake jerked his head to the side, near the freight car. "Your friends must be arriving soon. Probably from the door behind me" Snake got closer to Black Violet and grabbed her arm. "But before we go I'll take that CODEC!"

* * *

Black and white marble, of an exquisite beauty encompassed the walls of the main hall of the building. Raiden looked left and right in amazement. He could discern at least two floors above the ground area where he was. Stairwells on the far left and far right seemed to be the only way to access them.

"This way." Marsh pulled Raiden to the right side and up the stairwell. _I need to get away from here, I need to find Snake and I need to stop Liquid! _The truth of the matter was that Raiden could not do these things all alone, it would be impossible. _I was too careless! That's what I always have been. _Raiden kept thinking about situations that he got himself into and that needed someone else's help to get out. Even though he had a lot of experience that experience came with a price, recklessness. _Damn! _Raiden was angry at himself. On the second floor, Raiden saw several doors, none of them with marks. Marsh pushed him through one and immediately Raiden noticed two pillars in the center of a large room. The walls were made of the same marble as those outside, the wall, however were decorated with several paintings. Marsh was greeted by a soldier. "Keep him under surveillance until Tiger deals with them"

_Them? _Raiden wondered whilst feeling Marsh' gripping easing until he let him go. The soldier immediately raised his XM177 and pointed it at him. He gave Raiden a slight push towards the back of the room near the second pillar.

"Yes, sir!" The soldier replied to Marsh and he followed by leaving the room.

Raiden kept walking towards the second pillar and caught sight of a second soldier standing beside a desk. A man was also sitting on a large simple wooden desk, with a large computer on top. Raiden breathed deeply as he caught sight of the man's face. _Otacon!_


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

The Major grabbed his radio once he noticed that Campbell was out of earshot, the gunfire that he had just heard couldn't be something good. "Sir, is everything alright? We heard gunfire!!"

"It's nothing, why did you call?" Velkan snapped back at the Major.

"We have a problem on the roof!" After a few seconds of silence the Major received his response.

"What are you on about?" Velkan asked.

"The Doctor, Campbell distracted us for a second and the doctor escaped." The Major turned his head slightly and looked at Campbell, who was being helped onto the chair. "She caught the elevator up to the roof" The Major continued.

"There's nothing up there……Major?"

"Yes, sir?" The Major sensed Velkan was onto to something.

"Call the men on the helicopter, make sure they kill anyone up there. I don't want any more surprises like those vent access points" Velkan replied.

"Right away sir." The Major replied and changed the radio frequency, a frequency that was to be used only when the operation ended.

"This is the Major, Hilo Team are you there?"

"Yes, we read you loud and clear Major. Is it time?" A voice replied on the other side.

"No, not yet, I need you to do something. Someone escaped and headed for the roof, it's probably already there"

"I can't see anyone…wait the elevator door is open"

"Get on the air and wipe that roof clean, there's one of ours but his incompetence has made him undesirable, don't hold back because of him"

"Sure thing, I'm starting it up. What about the operation, how much more time…" before the man finished his phrase the Major stepped in.

"Just do what I tell you for now! Got it?" The Major snapped at the radio.

"Yes….right I'm lifting up now. Hey you got that gun ready?"

"Yeah, sure thing" The Major heard a voice far away.

"Good, let's get this done. This roof is going to become a warzone. Over and out." The man said and cut communications.

_I wonder if the Colonel…No I can't think like that. Even with a few hiccups we're in control. _The Major looked again at Campbell and noticed his defiant eyes; their silence was surpassed by the roaring gunfire in a far-off area of the chilly floor.

* * *

Naomi stared at the helicopter as it rose up into the air. It was a new model of the Black Hawk and a man was operating its left side gun, a M134 Minigun ready to fire.

"Crap!" The solider beside Naomi said as he got up and ran towards the elevator. Naomi did nothing to stop him. _Oh no!! What now!? _The helicopter was starting to turn around and then it accelerated and passed over Naomi high up in the air. _It's gone! Maybe it didn't see me!_ Naomi looked at the elevator and saw that the soldier was about to get inside. She had no chance but to get to that panel near the middle of the roof area. _I'm going! _Naomi was sure of herself, the helicopter was nowhere to be seen and the panel was just a few feet away. She began to run as fast as she could, she rushed past several chimneys about waist high and soon she saw the panel more clearly. _Activate the scaffolds and reset the environmental system._ The thoughts of what she had to do crossed through her head, regrettably it was not the only thing. The sound was something Naomi had never heard. A recurring sound of bullet, bullets hitting the ground riddled with pebbles, sending them up into the air and Naomi straight into the ground. She was near one chimney and fortunately she didn't get hit. The noise, the confusion and the constant flow of pebbles that flew into her body was too much for her to handle. Naomi screamed as hard and loud as she could, with her eyes closed for the bullets to stop and like a prayer answered they did. Naomi heard the helicopter making another pass overhead. "Please!!! NO MORE!!" Naomi shouted again as she opened her eyes and saw her lab coat dirty with blood, her own blood. She had fallen pretty hard on the ground and as a result she had scrapped her elbows and her right knee, her wound on her left shoulder was also hurting pretty badly since she had used both her arms to cushion the fall. "Please! Please!! Please!!!" She said while standing perfectly still hoping for the helicopter to go away. _I'm not supposed to be here! I don't know what I'm doing here! _A faint stuttering sound announced that the helicopter was moving closer. Naomi shut her eyes again and waited. _I'm going to die here! _She stood still and kept her ear ready for that repeating noise, the last noise she would hear. Nonetheless before that noise another preceded it. "Get up! We need to move." It was the voice of a man. _That voice! Frankie?_

* * *

Meryl kept firing in bursts as the rage inside her continued high. She sometimes glanced at the pantry door, now filled with bullet holes, and wondered if on the other side were the dead bodies of the two women she had been ordered to take care of. Once the HKG36K was empty Meryl knew that they would come in again, but this time she wanted to fight Velkan. _You son of a bitch, you'll pay!! _She threw the machine gun on the floor and crouched down behind the counter, waiting for her opportunity after the men got inside.

"It seems that I underestimated you before, Meryl Silverburgh! I won't do it again. If you come quiet I promise you that you'll outlive your uncle, if you don't, then it's the other way around" Velkan's voice was clear.

Meryl shook from the cold, but she wouldn't shake away the rage. She wanted to kill Velkan with her own hands.

"I can see you there, trembling and scared to death. Come out and I promise you that your death will be swift. You have ten seconds"

Meryl was still crouched with the cold invading every inch of her body, her head was almost between her knees. She saw the FOXHOUND logo on her old uncle's vest and remembered when she looked to the old FOXHOUND team and Solid Snake as heroes, as legends.

_"The legendary Solid Snake...! You!? Sorry about before. I wasn't sure if you were one of the good guys."_ It had been so long ago but that talk still echoed in Meryl's mind.

_" But__ I knew you were__"_

_"How?"_

_" It's__ your eyes__"_

_" My__ eyes?"_

_" They're__ not soldiers eyes__"_

_" They're__ rookie's eyes, right?"_

_" No__, they'__re beautiful compassionate eyes__"_

_" Just__ what I'd expect from the legendary Solid Snake. __You trying__ to sweep me off my feet?"_

_" Don't__ worry. You'll land back on them once you meet me. The__ real deal__ is no m__atch for the legend, I'm afraid__"_

_'__beautiful__ compassionate eyes__' _Those words always struck Meryl as something weak. Ever since Alaska Meryl had always felt like whatever she did she would never lose those compassionate eyes. She had killed other soldiers, she had helped Snake in Washington several months ago, she had even infiltrated a carrier on her uncle's orders, but Snake was still the hero, even if he didn't think of himself like one. _What am I?_ Meryl took a new look at the pantry door, and again thoughts of dead bodies on the other side circled through her mind. _To hell with it! I'm Meryl Silverburgh! That's all I need to know right now. _

"Time's up!" Velkan said.

"GO SCREW YOURSELF!!" Meryl shouted from behind the counter. "I'm ready for you!"

* * *

Cold and dark, that's how it felt inside the vent, the gunfire hadn't stop until a few minutes later, but thanks to Rose, Mei Ling was safely inside the vent and they had already traversed a few feet towards Meryl's private room.

"We're almost there" Mei Ling said as she pointed the small flashlight at the fluorescent line. Rose, who was behind her, said nothing. Suddenly they heard a faint scream from the cafeteria area. _Meryl! _Rose whipped her head around and looked at the distant dark. The cold didn't stop her from shivering, but she would have shivered anyway at the thought of what Velkan might be doing to Meryl. _Maybe I am like she said…a damsel in constant distress. _Rose didn't know what to think. She had felt bad before, but now not only did she felt bad but she felt helpless. At least Meryl fought back, but Rose had no training of any kind, she was an analyst. _I should have stayed with the children…_

"Hey, Rose!"

Rose felt a slight pull on her shoulder. She turned her head around and Mei Ling, with the flashlight pointed at the line, looking at her.

"We need to keep moving, we need to find a way to help!" Mei Ling said as she took her hand from Rose's shoulder.

"What can we really do?" Rose asked shivering. "We're both powerless and alone!"

"'He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still'" Mei Ling said and smiled. "C'mon let's move."

Rose didn't smile, but she followed Mei Ling, whatever the future held for her it would certainly be something dangerous.

* * *

Velkan got closer to the cafeteria room. "I'm going inside" Velkan looked at the side wall of the cafeteria room and opened his left eye closing his right one. Suddenly the walls were transparent, he could see faint traces of tables, chairs and the pantry, more so he saw that the pantry and the vent above was empty. His sight couldn't see any further. _They escaped. _"You two" Velkan looked at the two soldiers beside him. "Go towards the east side, towards the middle of the floor, two women escaped from the pantry. Catch them and kill them. I'll take care of Campbell's niece"

"Yes, sir" The two men responded and ran towards the east area of the large floor.

_Now, Meryl! _Velkan looked again through the side wall and immediately discerned a human body. Meryl was behind the counter sitting on the ground shaking. "It seems that I underestimated you before, Meryl Silverburgh!" Velkan spoke in a loud voice. "I won't do it again. And if you come quiet I promise you that you'll outlive your uncle. If you don't, then it's the other way around" Velkan was smirking. "I can see you there, trembling and scared to death. Come out and I promise you that your death will be swift. You have ten seconds" The ten seconds passed by silently. Velkan kept looking at the human body behind the counter, wondering what she would do. Velkan was already day dreaming of what kind of reaction Campbell would have when he saw her niece almost dead. Velkan snapped his large knuckles and got a tighter hold over his cane. "Time's up!" He said.

"GO SCREW YOURSELF!!" Velkan heard Meryl shout from behind the counter. "I'm ready for you!"

_Me too! _Velkan laughed out loud and rushed into the cafeteria.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Tiger was walking at an accelerated pace through the corridor after he left his room. He rushed past the two large and very sturdy looking doors and proceeded straight towards the small hangar exit door. He pushed the button on the side wall to open it and immediately saw the night sky greeting him. The nearby area was populated with great tents protecting the multitude of guns for the operation. To the left of the hangar was a large building and in front of it covering a large area was the soldier camp, the quarters were now too small to house everyone that had joined the Black Army, it had been Ocelot that had arranged for the many men to fight for the Black Unit's cause and that's why Black Tiger's dream was so confusing. _I'll worry about that later… _Tiger walked towards the camp, through tents and through men he shouted. "Follow me!" _Violet, just a few more seconds._Tiger moved towards the small and very hot corridor entrance, right next to the fortress wall. He opened the door and hasted inside. "Keep your guns ready!" He said to the dozen soldiers following him. The walk took its time as they descend towards the train terminal. He had already started to sweat just like every time he did when he walked through this tunnel, but this time it didn't matter. Solid Snake was restrained. The man that had killed his mentor was within his grasp. The man that had taken his left hand was helpless and alone. A smile appeared on his face. Once he opened the door that led to the terminal the smile rushed off his face. Two dead bodies were all that Tiger saw. "Sweep the place!" He raised his hands and the soldiers hurried inside. Tiger looked at the fallen soldiers. _Did he get away!!? _His eyes diverted from the dead bodies towards the small service stairs that stood just beside the freight car, on the wall. "Crap!" _He's up there!_ Tiger reached for his radio and as quickly as he could he called out to everyone to proceed towards the guard house and activate the alarm. "Be careful, the intruder may have a hostage with him." _Damn you Violet! I should've come right away._

* * *

Snake was met with frustrations as he tried, with no results, to call anyone on the CODEC. _Damn! _Snake quickly forgot about it for he had more pressing matters to attend to. Black Violet was going up first the dark stairs and Snake had to keep sure Black Violet didn't move too fast or too slow up the stairs. It wasn't the ideal situation, far from it. Snake was sure that Black Violet wouldn't hesitate to kill him, she could try to push from the stairs but she would also die in the process. With his M4 safely strapped on his back Snake kept his silenced SOCOM pointed at her at all times, and Snake knew that Violet, although she sounded like a cold blooded killer, didn't want to die.

Once they reached a trapdoor and after Violet opened it, Snake felt a small breeze running across his face and saw dim lights. "If you make a sound or any sudden move I'll shoot" Snake said as he pushed Violet towards the exit, threatening her with his SOCOM. She complied with everything. Snake was now outside, but not necessarily safe. It was a small, squared shaped, guard house with windows to the left and to the right and a small empty chair near one of the corners, the perfect spying place and fortunately with the lights off and empty. The only way in or out was a small door on one of the corners. Through the windows Snake saw the area he was in. It sounded impossible to him that, as Otacon told him before the operation began, that the satellites had no images of this place. "_It was just a desert" _He remembered him saying.

"Magnificent isn't it?" Black Violet said as she walked towards one of the windows. "So this is the heart of the Aswad territory?" Snake asked knowing it to be true.

As he looked in front he saw what had to be tents, to the left of it was an enormous, very high building according to the roof blinking red lights. To the left of it was a smaller building but still quite tall and very wide, it looked like some kind of hangar and a few other bigger tents were in front of it, but he couldn't see what they were used for.

As Snake turned his head to his right he saw about fifty meters away a large gate with two men guarding it. They hadn't noticed them because the lights were off and Snake quickly grabbed Violet and both got behind the closed door. "Now keep quiet" He said, letting her go.

"You now, your other friend is probably dead by now" Violet said. Snake acted by taking the silencer barrel of his SOCOM and pressing it hard against Violet's chest.

Violet looked at Snake's threatening eyes and kept silent. Snake wasn't sure of what to do next. He had to get out and find Raiden, but where could he be. The answer however came shortly after as Snake's CODEC began to ring, it wasn't a normal CODEC transmission. _Could it be the enemy! _Snake answered and right away knew who the voice on the other side belonged to.

* * *

"Didn't you hear me!!? Let's move!" The voice that at first sounded like it had come from her older brother was now different. Naomi opened her eyes and saw a soldier's mask. The same soldier that had run to the elevator was now helping her up. "The helicopter is coming!!" The soldier shouted again and indeed the motor noise sounded more and more close.

"What!!?" Naomi replied as she felt the soldier grabbing her harms with both hands.

"Let's go!!" The soldier pulled as hard as he could to get Naomi up. "Run!!" Naomi began running, trying to keep up with the pace of the soldier in front of her. She would've wondered why the soldier was helping her now, but the helicopter was at this time behind her.

Naomi saw as the first few bullets missed her and hit the ground sending pebbles to the air just beside her. "AHHH!!!" She screamed as the bullets veered towards her. Then she felt a strong push and she was again on the ground with eyes closed, this time on her back. She heard the bullets hit something really close. When she opened her eyes, the soldier was right beside her on the ground and she noted they were behind one of the small chimneys. The helicopter had missed again, it went by overhead and Naomi sighed with relief. "Lady, there's no time to breathe we need to get to that elevator!" The soldier said through his black protective headgear.

"Why did you help me back there?" Naomi asked as she leaned her back on the side chimney and looked at the soldier. "Why!?"

"I…I don't know really. Maybe because I knew that they didn't care about me either, or maybe is because I have a weakness for good looking women" The soldier replied getting on his knees.

"'Didn't care about you' what kind of people would shoot one of their own!" Naomi replied checking her elbow wound and completely ignoring the soldier's compliment.

"Those people down there that's who. I haven't been with them for long but I know what they do to people that make mistakes, specially the Major" The soldier looked behind him at the elevator opened door. "We need to get moving now! It's only a few feet left to the elevator. We get downstairs and we get away from this place…"

"I can't!!" Naomi quickly replied, turning her attention from her injuries and looking straight into the soldier's mask, she guessed where his eyes would be. "I thank you for saving me but I have to do something"

"Look! Can you hear that!? In a few seconds you'll be dead, nothing can stop that helicopter. You will die here but if you come with me we might get out of this" The soldier said clearly upset.

"I can't. I wish I could but I can't. These people they…they helped me and I have to repay them" Naomi replied hearing the helicopter coming closer.

"I don't understand you people, really!! I've been in several tough situations, life threatening even. There comes a point when you have to give up, there's just no chance to win"

Naomi got on her two feet and looked to her back and to the panel near the side wall, once it was so close now it was just as far as when they reached the roof."I know! But I've been through enough situations to know that there's always a way!" Naomi replied, thinking that would be something Snake or the Colonel would've said.

"Crap lady!" The soldier replied. "I…I'm not going to go away and watch you die" The soldier also got to his feet. "Maybe this is my time to go. Well at least I'll be helping a beautiful woman!" The soldier spoke to Naomi.

"We're not going to die!" Naomi said as she got ready, the helicopter was close, very close.

"Whatever lady." The soldier replied. _That helicopter has been toying with us all this __time,__ it could've just circled us and picked us of easily. _The soldier knew that the woman needed something to hold on to, but he knew that they wouldn't be alive for long. It seemed weird to him after all this time ducking, hiding trying to get away alive that he was now here risking his life for someone he had called the enemy just a few minutes ago. But this woman had something different; she didn't make him feel bad, not as much at least. "By the way!" The soldier stopped Naomi from beginning her run. "What's your name?"

"My name?" Naomi replied. "My name…you can call me Naomi." She said. "And yours?"

"Johnny, Johnny Sasaki."


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Otacon couldn't discern anything; his glasses were not on his head and the back of his head was throbbing with pain. _What is going on!! _Otacon grunted and moaned as he tried to make sense of where he was. It sounded like a helicopter, something he had heard before, but he couldn't remember from where. "Stay still, you took quite a bump on the head…I wish they weren't so brute" The voice belonged to Susanne. Otacon got his bearings and noticed that he was in fact sitting on the floor on the back of a helicopter, Susanne was by her side from what he could tell and he could also discern other people all around. "Are you going around the coordinates I told you?" A voice seemed to be coming from a radio.

"Oui!" he heard a response from, what he guessed was, the pilot."

"Good, you should be here soon then" The radio voice said and then silence.

"What's going on?" Otacon tried to reach his eyes but he noticed his hands were bound.

"I don't know!!" Susanne replied. "They have your glasses and your communication device."

_The CODEC!!? What the hell! _Otacon had no idea of what was going on, everything seemed hazy. The thoughts came slowly to him. _Snake, Raiden, the mission…I have to tell him I lost contact with HQ…_ Again, Otacon tried to get free but something was bounding his hands.

"We're arriving somewhere" Susanne said raising her voice through the sound of the helicopter engine.

"Nous arrives!" Someone said from the front of the helicopter.

"Where?" Otacon promptly asked.

"No idea"Susanne replied.

Otacon felt the helicopter slowing down and descending, once it landed safely on the ground he heard the doors opening, they sounded old and immediately he felt the wind rushing past his face. The sun was low on the horizon; probably an hour had gone by since he was awake.

"Here" Susanne said and Otacon felt something near his face. Susanne placed Otacon's glasses on his face and he saw her right away. "Susanne…"

"They just gave them to me" She replied and got out through the side door, apparently because of her delicate way she wasn't handcuffed.

"Wait, what's going on?" Otacon looked around and saw the interior of the helicopter; it was quite old and very run down. Two men were un-cuffing him. "Who are you, what's this place?" Somehow it seemed to Otacon he had met these two soldiers before, but he couldn't quite place them.

"Welcome to the Aswad Territory Dr. Emmerich." A voice said from outside the helicopter, Otacon looked outside and saw a large man wearing what looked like a black suit and a black overcoat. "Bring him!" The man said out loud while the two men escorted Otacon outside of the helicopter.

"Tell me what this place is and what's going on!! Where's Snake, Susanne?" Otacon was getting seriously angry when he noticed that Susanne seemed to have gone from the roof with two other soldiers. "Where are you taking her?"

The man with the large black overcoat laughed. "Don't worry about Susanne, she'll be fine, for now"

_No! _Otacon opened his mouth wide. "Who are you? How did you…"

"All in due time, now I need you to come quietly" The man turned around and jerked his head ordering the two men, escorting Otacon, to follow him. Otacon hadn't noticed it before, but he was on top of some kind of building, around him he saw nothing but spacious land. He also noticed that the helicopter was an old UH-1 Iroquois model, more commonly known as 'Huey' and it was safely on top of a large white painted letter 'H'.

The concrete was soft on Otacon's sneakers and soon he saw the exit, some stairs leading down. Before he was taken downstairs he saw a large and tall wall around the enormous area, there's was a watchtower and further away he could've sworn he saw a repeating pattern on the ground, something that looked like a railroad track. On the floor below, the air was stale, but the environment was certainly classier. The walls were made of black and white marble stones. They were in some kind of wide corridor, kind of a hotel corridor with doors on each side. "This way" The man was still descending to the lower floor and the two soldiers followed with Otacon in front of them. _Where am I? How did they find me and Susanne? _Several questions rose, but not one was answered. When they reached the lower floor, again it was like a hotel corridor with several doors on each side, this one however had one large door at the end of the broad corridor. A plaque was over it but Otacon couldn't read what it said. "That's a private room! Don't' even think about going there" The man replied as he saw Otacon's inquisitive looks upon the door. "This will be your workroom, it's a lounge area, but we brought a desk and a computer for you."

"What are you talking about? I'm not going to work for you." Otacon said swiftly.

The man smiled then opened the door and entered; the soldiers and Otacon followed him inside.

The room had quite a few paintings around and most of them seemed to be dedicated to United States history. A person inside a large hazmat suit was just a few feet away from the door. Otacon didn't expect the greeting to be like it was.

"Doctor Hal Emmerich!!" Black Phantom was smiling behind his clear head visor. "It's an honor to meet you again."

"Dr. Ed Brown!" Otacon was amazed at the sight.

"Please!" Black Phantom got closer to Otacon. "I don't call myself Ed Brown anymore, or doctor for that matter. Now I'm simply Black Phantom. Please, follow me" Phantom spoke calmly with a rough, but gentle voice. The soldiers stopped walking behind Otacon, the other man was now appointed to that task. Phantom walked towards an old wooden desk that was behind a large pillar. "What is this Dr. Brown? What are you doing with these men?"

Phantom gave a slight laugh. "Men and women Dr. Emmerich" Phantom circled around the desk and pointed his arm to an empty chair in front of the computer. "Please sit down, Dr. Emmerich!"

"I don't think so!"Otacon replied defiantly.

"I think you should." The man behind Otacon said. Otacon turned around and looked at the man's eyes.

"Who the hell are you? And what am I doing here?" Otacon asked unafraid of what the man might do to him.

"My name's Black Tiger Dr. Emmerich and if you don't want your precious little girlfriend Susanne to die you'll do what I tell you" He took a few steps towards Otacon and with a lightning fast motion he grabbed Otacon's throat. "This is just an appetizer of what I'll do to her if you don't obey me"

Otacon felt a strong grip on his throat. He looked down to Tiger's hand and saw it had some kind of metallic glove on. It lasted mere seconds, but it felt like minutes. Otacon dropped to the floor on his knees and then reached for his throat and tried to breathe slowly.

"That was unnecessary Tiger" Phantom said.

"Get it done, I'll be back soon, I have a few matters to attend to"

Otacon saw Tiger walking away.

"I'm sorry for him, if you sit down, I'll tell why we need you."

_I can't help them!! This is the Black Unit…the same people that we need to kill, but they are going to kill Susanne…Damn!! What should I do? _Otacon looked at Dr. Brown attentively. His hazmat suit was very large and a small keypad and screen was over his right arm. "It's of my own design" Phantom replied seeing Otacon looking at the device. "It's a portable computer, quite powerful. I use it to make sure everything is on schedule" Phantom smiled.

"Doctor, what happened to you, and why are you helping these people!? These people are terrorists" Otacon asked wondering what kind of reaction Dr. Ed brown would have.

"Terrorists ha!! These people are not the enemy Dr. Emmerich. They are my only family now. I don't wear this suit because I want to Doctor. I wear it because I have to, because of what happened to me" Phantom had a serious look on his face, no visor could hide it.

_The burns! That Naomi treated! _"Someone that helped you told me about your…your…" Otacon was trying to find the right word to phrase.

"Someone that helped me!?" Phantom laughed slightly. "I don't remember much after the accident"

"Accident!?" Otacon asked.

"Yes, about a month after that whole episode in Alaska, Armstech went downhill. Trying to stay on the top major layoffs and payment cuts were made, but it was all a mute effort I'm afraid. Armstech was disappearing in front of my eyes and so was my work. Work that was directly affected by you Dr. Emmerich and your fabulous machine. I still remember when we met" Phantom walked around the desk and faced Otacon. "That massive Metal Gear was what led me to continue my work in robotics. I knew I could never surpass you so I thought of something else I could perfect" Phantom was smiling. "Unfortunately with Armstech going to the gutter I had to find new resources as my research demanded high costs. The contact came to me. I received several encrypted emails, which I later found were from the Patriots." Phantom moved away from Otacon and again circled the desk looking at the several paintings on the walls. "At first I couldn't believe such a thing existed but as more and more time passed by I began to see their immense power. In newspapers, television they were everywhere. They had asked me to go work for them, to continue my research elsewhere and use my skills in a new top secret unit but… but I couldn't leave my family, my daughter and my adoptive son. They were everything to me" Phantom lowered his head.

"Were!?" Otacon asked.

"Yes, the accident I speak off happened in my home. A fire!! I never knew the reason why. I tried to get them, I prayed to god hoping they were okay, but they were dead. Their bodies were on the floor of the corridor upstairs." Phantom's voice was quivering. "My dear Anna and Marc!!"

"I'm…." Otacon was interrupted before he could even apologize.

"I stayed with them, I would die with them. But I was even defrauded of that. My burns were extremely severe. I don't remember much of anything after that; I do remember that when I woke up I was in the company of Black Tiger. My wounds were partially healed and he had found way to keep me alive with this suit!" Phantom turned to Otacon. "This is my story Dr. Emmerich. Now I work for them, because not only did Tiger save my life but he gave me a new one. One where I can make a real difference, unfortunately that all changed now. They betrayed us, the Patriots sent us to die, but they don't know we're going to fight back. Now Dr. Emmerich! Sit down and get ready to do something for us, otherwise you can believe me when I tell you that woman is going to die by Tiger's hands" Phantom now looked serious in Otacon's eyes, every kindness that was there vanished.

"What is it you want me to do?" Otacon asked wondering if he could resist the notion of Susanne being tortured.

Phantom smiled again and pointed at the chair in front of the wooden desk. "I'm not a hacker per se." Otacon was now seated on the chair looking at a blank computer screen. The monitor's wires were connected to a computer that was under the desk, Otacon had only glanced at it, but it seemed to be state of the art. A wireless mouse and keyboard were in front of the screen facing Otacon and ready to be used. Phantom pushed the power button on the nineteen inches computer screen and it came on.

"Encrypted files! That's why you want me?" Otacon asked looking at Phantom.

"You're surprised, you think we wanted you to reveal your friends position" Phantom laughed. "We don't need your help for that Dr. Emmerich"

Otacon didn't know if he should be relieved or not, what could Phantom meant by that?

"We need to decrypt those files, they belong to someone very important, but Tiger seems to think that he's hiding something and we need to know what it is. My portable computer is connected to this computer, if I see your doing something you're not supposed to I'll know" Phantom was now dead serious again. "Just do what I say and everything will be fine" Phantom moved and got besides the chair Otacon was sitting. "You may begin" He said.

_Crap! What now! _Otacon glanced left and right trying to figure a way out of this situation. The room only had one way out, and it was being guarded by a soldier, the other one had moved near Phantom. Otacon sighed at the realization that he would have to help the very same people Snake and Raiden were trying to stop. "Alright!" Otacon said stretching out his hands and feeling the touch of keyboards' keys.

* * *

A few minutes went by and Otacon hadn't had any luck in decrypting the files. The two soldiers were now around the desk.

"Well, what are you doing?" Phantom asked placing his gloved hands fiercely on the desk.

"Nothing yet" Otacon replied, jerking his glasses up his noses and not diverting his eyes from the computer screen.

The door behind him opened up and Phantom quickly left Otacon and the two soldiers and headed towards it. Otacon glanced and saw that the man called Black Tiger had entered the room, he was talking to Phantom and Otacon could hear them talking about his progress, about someone called V that was on a special mission and another person called Marsh that was coming soon bringing something for Phantom. Otacon, again, quickly tuned his head to look at them and saw Phantom looking at his small computer. _That's it! I have to risk it! _Otacon quickly turned to the computer and forgot all about the decryption files, he had to find something he could use. He quickly searched the network and found several files that could be of importance to him. _Schematics of this place!! Great…and what's this? _But before he could go on, he heard the door closing and Phantom walking towards him. He closed what he had been doing and returned to decrypting the files. _Damn! I need to see that!_That thought echoed through Otacon's mind over all the time he spent in front of the keyboard pushing keys, but Phantom was always by his side, looking at the computer screen. Otacon was indeed trying to decrypt the files but it definitely wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. Otacon had rarely seen this kind of protection. A few more minutes went by and after a small talk with someone on the VOXER, far from Otacon, Phantom seemed gloomy about something and Otacon could've sworn he heard 'Garand' and 'dead' in the same sentence, but what did it meant? He forgot all about that and seized the opportunity to check the network again and the schematics, ignoring the encrypted files. The same files he had seen before were also encrypted but they were much easier to hack into. Before completing the process Phantom got close to him and again Otacon halted the hacking returning to the encrypted files that Phantom desperately wanted opened.

"I need to leave for a while!"Phantom said. "Try to hurry!"

"Wait where are you going? Where's Susanne, can I see her?" Otacon asked hoping for a positive response.

Phantom ignored him and moved away towards the exit door. Otacon gave a dire sigh and looked at the computer screen and then to the two soldiers around the desk. "You don't suppose you could get me something to eat!?"

With nothing to eat, with no way to track the time and with no way to get past the encryption of the files, Otacon almost wanted to give up, for several times now he had almost given into the temptation to search the other files on the network for something he could use, but Phantom's small computer was linked to this one and he would probably check it from time to time. _I can't risk it…if he finds out then he'll take me away from the computer…wait a sec! I can't believe I didn't think about it! What kind of hacker am I? I'll __take the chance!__I__t'll just take a few seconds._ And indeed a few seconds was all it took for Otacon to find a way around Phantom surveillance. He would've slapped his forehead, but he thought it would've looked suspicious to the two guards around the desk. _So easy! _Otacon was amazed that he didn't think of it before, he had hacked into Phantom's portable computer and with a few well crafted pushes of keys he made it look to Phantom that he was working on the encrypted files when in fact he was browsing through the other files, the ones that interested him the most. _The schematics and hopefully a way out of here._Otacon tried to hide the smile as he saw several schematics of the place he was being held prisoner, he knew it was of the place he was in because of the distinct structure in the schematics, the same structure he had seen from the roof. _I'm in the main building, three stories and a basement. The basement is the armory, small from the looks of it. Then the ground floor, quarters. The second floor bathroom, mess hall and lounge area, where I am. Third floor briefing room and officer's quarter, this is built for an army__F__inally the roof, heliport._Otacon noticed something strange on the second floor schematic a large area was in gray. _That door_"Weird!" Otacon took his hand to his mouth as soon as he noted he had spoken out loud. Fortunately it didn't seem that the guards had noticed it. _There's has to be something in here I can use! _Otacon browsed through several files until he stumbled upon an interesting and frightening one. _No!_

One of the soldiers radio came to life and Otacon immediately recognized the voice.

"Marsh is taking the intruder there, keep both of them under surveillance and if Dr. Emmerich seems too slow you can hurt the other!" Tiger said and one of the soldiers responded.

"Yes sir!"

"Over and out." Tiger signed off.

Otacon didn't know what to do, he had found something terrible on the computer and someone was bringing an 'intruder' to the same room where he was. _Could it be Snake…or Raiden! _Otacon quickly browsed through the file that had given him goose bumps. _This can't be! On the room two of the hangar…unmanned…artificial __intelligence. _A few minutes went by and still Otacon's eyes were glued at the screen trying to get all the information onto his head. When the door opened, however, Otacon's eyes diverted for a second from the computer screen and to the door. The soldiers had gone to the door and one of them was now escorting someone towards Otacon. _Raiden!_


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

"Alright let's do this!" Naomi said as she got her eyes on the target, a small white panel near the side wall.

"We need to run first!" Johnny spoke as he heard the helicopter coming up behind them fast. He quickly grabbed Naomi's arm and ran. They were zigzagging around the small chimneys. "When the helicopter starts firing you duck!! Got it?" Johnny screamed and Naomi nodded fervently. The helicopter was right behind them and began firing. Naomi dropped to the ground, sliding into the protection of a small chimney. _I'm safe!! _She thought as she felt Johnny pulling her towards himself. This time however the helicopter didn't stop firing. After a few seconds Naomi could see the thick cement of the chimneys being blown to pieces. _What!! _

"I knew it!!" Johnny said. "It was just playing with us, now we're in for the real deal" He said looking at Naomi and saw the look in her eyes. Johnny quickly glanced to the side and thought of a quick plan. "Listen, we need to split up, I'll go this way" He jerked his head to the side and you that way. CRAP!!" The helicopter, which was hovering, now circled around the chimney making Johnny and Naomi move carefully around it. "We need to go now!!!" Johnny shouted and let go of Naomi. Instantaneously Naomi felt insecure, even in the dire situation she was in Johnny's embrace had made her feel safe for a few seconds. Johnny ran towards the general direction of the panel but he quickly made a sharp turn to the left. _His gun! _Naomi saw Johnny jumping to the ground to grab his machine gun. He missed by a few inches. _No!! _The noise was unmistakable, the helicopter was moving to the side. It was positioning itself to take him out. Johnny stretched out his arm and saw that he could reach the gun. _There! _He grabbed it and quickly turned his head to locate Naomi, but a more pressing issue came to Johnny's mind as he saw the helicopter turning. _That can't be good! _Then he saw, through the corner of his eye a white shadow running, he focused his eyes and saw Naomi running, her white lab coat flailing through the air. _Good! Now I really should move!! _Johnny looked for the nearest chimney and rushed to it, however it wasn't fast enough. One of the many bullets coming from the helicopter's minigun ricochet on the floor and some shrapnel hit him in the most undesirable place. "AHHH!!! MY ASS!!!" He screamed as he hid behind one of the chimneys. He quickly lied on the floor, belly down. _Why do these things always happen to me!! _

Naomi didn't stop running, even after hearing the gunfire. She was too close to the panel to stop or hide. She could already see the handle. _Open it, activate the scaffolds and get out!!_ The panel was right in front of her, not even the pain on her scrapped knees mattered as she kneeled down. Naomi heard the gunfire stopping. Perhaps Johnny was now dead, but it didn't matter she wouldn't turn around. Her hands gripped the handle and she pulled as hard as she could. The panel opened up and she saw two big circuit breakers on the down position and several small buttons. Labels over the breakers told her what they did. The first one had Emergency 'Evacuation System' written over it and the other had 'Environmental System (Warning: Reset only)'. Without much thought needed Naomi pulled the two big ones up. The helicopter now sounded closer and Naomi could feel her hair rustling, the wind on the roof was not very fast, that meant that the helicopter was close behind her and ready to send her to her death.

* * *

Meryl acted on basic survival instinct, but she wasn't going head on to face Velkan. She was going for the gun of the soldier that was down of the floor, its HKG36K had to have some bullets left in the magazine and Meryl could also use the knife that was strapped on his back. Velkan had already stormed inside the room when Meryl ran to the soldier's body. She quickly got to the gun, picked it up and pointed it at Velkan, two shots were fired, one from the HKG36K and one from Velkan's SOCOM. He had seen Meryl going for the gun and reacted by reaching for his weapon with his left hand. "You bitch!!" Velkan almost collapsed on the floor, but by shifting his weight on his cane he prevented it. Blood was dripping from his right leg. "My bad leg!! You're going to pay for that!" Velkan already knew that Meryl was paying for it, Velkan hadn't missed his shot.

She was on the ground and the pain was in her right arm, just below the shoulder, the bullet had hit and it hadn't gone through. The wound was so severe she almost had no strength to hold the HKG36K. _Damn!! It hurts! _Meryl grinded her teeth as she held the scream inside. The breathing got heavier and the cold didn't help the situation. She looked at Velkan and saw that she had hit him on his leg, but it wasn't as bad as her wound. Meryl tried as fast as she could to reach for the HKG36K gun with her left hand, but Velkan was already moving towards her. "I don't think so little girl!!" Velkan moved as fast he could supporting most of his weight on his sturdy cane and keeping his SOCOM pointed at Meryl.

Meryl saw it and realized she had no chance to survive. Velkan would have shot her where she stood. _I lost…I never had a chance…_

"Don't worry!" Velkan placed himself in an awkward position so he could kick the gun away from Meryl. "I won't kill you right away! You had no idea I had this did you!" Velkan placed his SOCOM on Meryl's forehead. "It's my old and trusty companion! Now get up!!" He said holding the gun to her head.

Meryl obeyed as she pressed on the bullet wound with her left hand, preventing the blood from coming out.

"You really need a tourniquet there, but first I want to have some fun" Velkan smiled and Meryl saw his yellow teeth before closing her eyes in pain.

"AHHHHHH!!!!" Meryl screamed from the top of her lungs. Velkan had taken the barrel of the gun from Meryl's head and placed it into her wound, pushing the bullet further into the arm.

"Yes, scream!! That's the way I like it!" Velkan said.

Meryl had been shot and tortured before, but this was worst than those times. "AHHH!! Sadistic bastard!! You son of a bitch!!!" She cried out.

"HAHAHA!! Yes, I believe that's what I am!!!" Velkan pushed Meryl as hard as he could towards the back wall right beside the counter. There he pushed his gun a bit further into the wound. _I'm going to break you and then take you to Campbell!! He'll see how it feels to lose everything!! He'll regret what he did to me._

Meryl was losing it. The pain was just too much to bear! "Please!!" She uttered and immediately regretted it. _No I can't give in! But the pain it's just too much! I'm going to die… _Meryl was feeling her eyes watering up and the cold did nothing but help Velkan in his torture. Meryl was feeling ready to faint. She opened up her eyes and saw Velkan staring at her wound. The expression on his face was that of a kid playing with his toys._ What kind of person would do this!_ With this thought Meryl felt her eyes heavy and ready to fall to the ground. _I'm giving up…I need to, there's no way! _

"Oh! You don't have any strength left do you my little FOXHOUND wannabe!!" Velkan said grinning. "You really shouldn't give in to your anger! It will make you do irrational things!!"

_He's right! _Meryl hated to admit it, but Velkan was right. The rage she felt made her moved too recklessly. She had accomplished nothing but a missed shot on Velkan's bad leg. _His bad leg…the cane!_ Meryl didn't even opened her eyes she just reacted to her thought, she moved her left leg as wildly as she could and with a stroke of luck she hit Velkan's cane and his entire body came crashing down. Meryl felt the pain easing up immediately. She opened her eyes wide and looked at the exit. _Run!! I can do it!! _She psyched herself up and began moving towards the door, completely ignoring Velkan, now fallen to the ground beside her. She took her left hand to her wound and put pressure on while running towards the exit. Once she cleared it she closed the door shut and sighed heavily.

"HAHAHA!! You really are a little stupid girl!!" Velkan shouted through the other side of the door.

Meryl wondered if she had missed something. _What the hell is he talking abou…oh crap!! _Meryl threw herself to the ground as fast as she could. Bullet holes began to appear on the door and then on the wall, Meryl removed her left hand from her wound and crawled as quickly as possibly away from the cafeteria area. The bullets were following her, but fortunately none of them hit her. Once she cleared the cafeteria and the corridor next to it she got to her feet and again put pressure on the wound. _That bastard, he can see through walls!! _Meryl looked to the side, to the cafeteria door and saw the trail of blood she left behind. _I need to do something about this!_ Suddenly she heard the VA speakers coming to life; first Meryl heard a strange alarm noise and then a female voice. "Attention all personnel, Emergency Evacuation System activated"

* * *

Mei and Rose crawled until they could no more; the cold was too hard and tiring for them to keep going. Mei ling noticed that her knees were practically blue because of the freezing air inside the vent. Rose could even feel small particles of ice over her eyebrows. Their breathing was extremely fast and every breath they took hurt a bit more because of the cold air. "We…need to keep…moving." Mei Ling said without moving a muscle, even though she wanted to move she didn't have the strength to do so.

"Yes…we…do." Rose replied feeling her entire body shivering. "We need… to help Meryl!"

Mei Ling nodded and again turned to the left side. She saw the fluorescent line with the flashlight and pointed it as far as she could. The exit was still distant and there was no way they could move in this cold. Mei Ling pointed the flashlight to the right, past Rose and didn't see the entrance they had used. They had heard gunfire, but it had stopped now. _We're going to die here!! _Mei looked at Rose and saw her closing her eyes. _I guess we're meant to die here. We're not heroes like Snake and Meryl. We're just support…if we die we'll be replaced. _Mei was thinking about the only thing that she felt bad about all this time and wondered if Rose felt the same way. _My work will never be recognized!! The soliton radar, my work at the SSCEN…nothing! Why did I even come here!? _Mei Ling felt her eyes closing, she felt like sleeping.

Rose opened her eyes and saw Mei Ling's closed. _We're dead here!__ I'll never speak to Jack again; I'll never hold my child in my arms again!! I'll never be able to do something really important…no I won't cry…I…I accept it. _Rose closed her eyes again and hoped that sleep would take her from this world. Both Mei Ling and Rose heard a far-away beeping sound then a muffled voice and then the cold diminish. Something or someone had saved them from death.

* * *

The sound of gunfire had stopped for a few seconds, but the Major was now busy with answering his radio, as Campbell waited for any kind developments.

"What is it? Is it the Colonel?" The major was talking on the radio again, for the last few minutes everything had been calm. The roof team still hadn't reported in and Campbell hadn't done anything else to upset him.

"No, we left the Colonel to deal with one of them, but we're in pursuit of two others. However we lost them! Without the Colonel's ability they could be anywhere!" One of the soldiers said on the Major's radio.

"Right, I'm sending you more men, over and out." The Major changed the radio frequency. "Team two are you there?"

"Sir, we read you. Over"

"What's your status?"

"We are guarding the second elevator as ordered sir."

"How many men?"

"Four sir, counting me"

"I see!" Send two to meet some men of team one right away. Search of any intruders!"

"Yes, sir, over and out"

The Major shut off the radio and sighed. _What a mess! _

"Are you having a few problems!?" Campbell asked as he saw the Major a bit distressed.

The Major walked from where he was and approached Campbell. "Not really, but if you want I can create you some"

Suddenly the VA system around the floor crackled and buzzed and then a loud beeping sound came on.

_Naomi did it. _Campbell thought as he heard the beeping sound dying out and a voice replaced it. "Attention all personnel, Emergency Evacuation System activated"


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Once the door closed Raiden and Otacon were alone with the two soldiers. Their guns were ready to fire in case Raiden made any move. Otacon looked at Raiden attentively. He seemed well, there was a large rip filled with blood on his leg but apart from that he looked fine. The two soldiers brought Raiden and placed him in front of Otacon past the desk. "Now hurry! Or I'll hurt your friend!" One of the soldiers spoke and the other made a thrusting motion with the butt of his gun towards one of Raiden's legs. The wound that Garand had given him wasn't healed, that would take some time, and it hurt like hell. Raiden grabbed the desk so he didn't fall, but his face showed Otacon he was in pain.

"Alright!! Just stop!" Otacon said and started again pushing keys, the two soldiers had no idea that he wasn't working on decrypting the files that Phantom had asked him to. _I need to find a way out of here. I can worry about my discovery later. _One of the files that had made him so apprehensive would have to wait, because with Raiden here, beside him they had more chances of getting away from this place. Otacon searched through the schematics again and quickly found something. _A water_ _conduit system!?Inside that room…this could work…it leads to…_

"Well!!?" One of the soldiers asked. "Is it done?"

Otacon was going as fast as he could while he glanced up to the two soldier's stern faces. "Not yet, just a little while longer" Otacon said buying some more time. He had no intention to decrypt the files even if in the last hour he had thought of a way that could probably do it. He was more interested where the water conduits would end up. _What's this!?__A pumping station just outside a hangar.__ This is it! This is our way out. _Otacon glanced at Raiden and saw him looking straight into his eyes. He had a plan but no away to convey it to it Raiden. If he talked it was a sure thing that the soldiers would hurt Raiden more before he could act._ Crap!! _Otacon moved his glasses up his nose as he felt them falling. He had to do something quickly._Uh…maybe.__ The light conditions are not that bad!! _"I'm close!" The idea that Otacon had was silly, but maybe it could work. In the next few minutes Otacon did the best he could, but one of the soldiers decided to circle around the desk and cramp up his plan. For about five minutes Otacon did nothing but to push keys randomly as the screen showed the hacking progress on the encrypted files. After the soldier got out of eyeshot, Otacon hurried and got everything ready. He moved his chair a few inches towards the desk and coughed so Raiden looked at him. "I need to clean my glasses" Otacon said removing them from his face and cleaning them with his jacket. He took a while to place them on his face again and before he did he noticed that Raiden had picked up on it.

* * *

It was a strange feeling that Ocelot was getting as he looked outside into the desert. He was nearby the troops, the Black Army. He took a deep breath. He was accompanied by soldiers around tents and campfires and yet Ocelot felt alone. _With the H1 ready, it won't be long now! _Ocelot looked at his right hand and closed it into a fist. _Will he be dead when I see him or will he make it inside alive? _The question on Ocelot's mind was partially answered as he heard and saw Tiger moving with several men accompanying him down to the train terminal. _Has he caught him? If so then you've slowed down with age dear brother! No matter then! If you're dead by now than I won't have to worry about you again and my future plans, though I wished we had one last fight, but not now, I'm not ready yet. I'll see the dream come true first…finally. _Ocelot almost smiled, then diverted his eyes to the desert and waited. Something would happen soon.

* * *

The sight of Otacon being alive and all around well was a relief to Raiden. But the small talk would have to wait; the soldiers pushed Raiden towards the front of the desk, opposite Otacon. "Now hurry! Or I'll hurt your friend!" The soldier to Raiden's left side said and immediately he noticed the soldier on his left moving. The pain near his knee wasn't small and if wasn't for the desk he would have fallen to the ground. _Bastards!! _

"Alright!! Just stop!" Raiden heard Otacon say and immediately saw him pushing keys. _What the hell is he doing? _With the gag onRaiden could only guess, but he gathered that Otacon had found something important and exciting. Raiden had seen that face many times, sometimes when Otacon and Mei ling had heated arguments about stuff he knew nothing about.

"Well!!?" One of the soldiers asked. "Is it done?"

Raiden looked at Otacon and heard his reply. "Not yet, just a little while longer"

_Something is definitely not right! _Raiden thought at the same time as he felt his knee pain easing up. He looked at Otacon and he looked back at him. _What are you doing?_

"I'm close!" Otacon spoke again.

One of the soldiers moved away from Raiden's side and circled around the desk, he even threw a few inquisitive looks at the computer screen, but he didn't seem to know what he was seeing. After he moved away Otacon spoke again. "I need to clean my glasses" And then Raiden saw it, so candid and yet so ingenious. Otacon had pulled his chair towards the screen and even coughed, but Raiden saw it as he held the glasses near his face for a few seconds before putting them on his face. The reflection on Otacon's glasses showed the computer screen. A word had been written on the screen. 'Raiden'. _He even inverted the text, clever Otacon, very clever! _Raiden was surprised that Otacon had thought of something so simple and yet so effective. The word disappeared and others took its place. 'Yes 1 Blink, No 2 Blinks' Raiden blinked his eyes once and Otacon again changed the words. After a few minutes of a silent one sided conversation and after the last blink of Raiden's eye the plan was laid down.

* * *

The voice on Snake's CODEC came on. "Snake can you hear me!?" Raiden's voice was a bit muffled.

"Raiden, where are you!!" Snake promptly asked.

"I'm fine. Snake are you ok? I tried to contact you after the derail…"

Snake interrupted. "I busted my CODEC, but I have Otacon's. What about you…this transmission sounds weird"

"There's someone here than can tell you about it." Raiden replied and a different voice came on the CODEC. "Snake?"

"Otacon!? You're alive!" Snake responded and watched Violet's reaction, except for a quick blink of her eyes there was no expression of any kind.

"Yeah I am, we're using an enemy radio, I got through to your frequency. Raiden tells me Susanne told you about an explosion, but she was mistaken! I don't understand she must have been…"

"She's with me Otacon, she's one of them" Snake replied again seeing no reaction by Violet.

"What!!? She's one of them!?"

"I took your CODEC from her. She was leading me straight to the enemy. Her real name is Black Violet"

"How could she…" Snake could hear the confusion in Otacon's voice. "How's that possible!! I…I thought she liked…"

"Otacon, we can't do this, not now!" Snake quickly replied. "Where are you!?"

Snake heard Otacon sighing and then answering. "We are in the main building inside what appears to be a large fortress."

"I'm also inside, but short on time, they know I'm here and the alarm is bound to go off soon!" Snake replied knowing that the person Violet called had given her just a few minutes before coming.

"Well, we are getting ready to escape"

"Escape, how?"

This time Violet reacted, her eyes opened a bit and she scowled at Snake.

"I hacked my way into their system and found a way out. The main building only has one exit, we could head for the roof but its dangerous and…and we still have a mission to complete"

"You're right, we do" Snake looked at Violet's face and a flash of her dead body came to her mind. The mission was to eliminate the Black Unit, and she was one of them. "What's the other way?"

"I found a water conduit, its Big enough to swim through. It ends up on a water pumping station just behind the hangar"

Snake quickly glanced out the window and saw the massive hangar's front door. "I can meet you there!" Snake replied.

"Alright…Snake what about her? Susanne."

"I'll take her with me" Snake replied. "Move out Otacon, well meet up in a few"

"Wait, Snake there's something else I need to tell you, actually two things, two very important things."

"What?"

"He's here, Liquid is here and the Black Unit has a Metal Gear on their side"


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"What is this!!?" The Major held Campbell by its collar. "What's this evacuation system!!?"

"You actually think I'm going to tell you!" Campbell replied feeling the Major's incredible strength.

The Major let go of Campbell and stepped aside. The two soldiers pulled Campbell back into the chair and looked curiously at the Major.

_Damnit!! This isn't going well, too many mistakes. The Colonel! He's obsessed. _The Major whipped around and looked at the two soldiers and Campbell. _What should I do!! _Almost a minute went by before he decided to call the Colonel, in his opinion the entire operation was crumbling and it was all due to the Colonel's obsession with Campbell.

"Sir, it's me!"

"What is it!!?" Velkan replied abruptly.

"Sir, the VA system came on…"

"I heard it too you idiot!! It's also getting hotter; there must be a backup system on that roof. Damn him!" Velkan tone was obvious.

"Sir, what do we do now!?" The Major asked clearly aware of the failure of his men, but the entire conversation was abruptly stopped as a signal cut into both transmissions. "To anyone listening, this Hawk One!!! The pilot was shot and I can't land!!! I repeat I can't land!!! Crap I can't get it steady!!!" The noise surrounding the transmission was filled with bleeps and alarm sounds. "I've just cleared the roof, his body is preventing me from piloting…maneuverability is low!!! Damn, I'm falling fast, controls are…" The entire floor was suddenly shaken and the Major lost simultaneous contact of Velkan and the helicopter crew! _Wha…this can't be happening! Our evacuation! And the Colonel?_

Campbell had been quiet for the last few minutes seeing the Major talking to the radio. Something was upsetting, but Campbell couldn't make out what it was. Naomi had activated the evacuation system, but after that roaring sound, like something had just been blown up, the doubt also began to appear on Campbell's mind. What could have possibly made that sound? And what did it meant for the three women that were still hiding around the vast floor. "What was that?" Campbell promptly asked.

The Major didn't reply.

"Sir this is team two, is everything alright!!?" The radio was still on the Major's hand when it came on.

"No something is very wrong, keep guarding the second elevator and call the others, make sure they keep looking for any personnel."

"Sir, we heard the men inside the helicopter what about…"

"You have your orders!" The Major turned off the radio and sighed. "You two guard the elevator. I'm going to find the Colonel."

"Sir?" One of the soldiers replied.

"You heard me! If something comes up use the radio!" The Major said and stormed out of the area.

* * *

Meryl could not believe her ears, her uncle had done it. The emergency evacuation system was activated, and not only that but the cold seemed to lessen. _Right, now the next step, one of those windows. _Meryl ran into the first corridor she saw, she had to get away from the cafeteria and Velkan. Meryl now had a difficult choice to make, would she get away alone or would she look for everyone else and then escape together. As Meryl reached an intersection with another corridor she saw the windows. She got close to them and looked underneath the windows, on the wall for something. It hadn't been long ago that the Colonel had briefed several key people about the evacuation system. Numerous large hidden scaffolds would descend from the roof if the system was activated, be it in the roof or through a computer. To get on the scaffolds several call buttons had been hidden underneath special large windows that would serve as passageways. Meryl felt something with her right bloody hand. _Here's one! _The button was imbedded in the wall with a protective case over it, she pulled the case off and pushed the button, it lit up green. The windows immediately shattered but didn't break and Meryl almost smiled. She touched the glass and it broke off, falling to the exterior. _Now I just have to…_ Before her thought was finished Meryl heard something, a voice from behind. "Did you actually think you'd get away!!?" Velkan's voice was instantly recognizable.

Meryl turned around and saw Velkan with both his eyes opened, his left one bleeding.

"You look like crap!" Velkan said. "I have to say I didn't think you would be so tough. However, now I don't think I'll take you to your uncle alive" Velkan said pointing his gun with his left hand. His entire weight was shifted to the right side because of the wound in his right leg, but thanks to his sturdy cane he could still stand. "I'm just going to shoot you now and end this" Velkan closed his left eye and opened his right one wider. "What is that? That green light?"

"I may die here, but my friends and my uncle will get out alive" Meryl replied feeling the blood sipping through her left hand, she been putting pressure on the wound with it, but the blood was still coming out.

"So, it's another one of Campbell's tricks! He has always been a distrustful bastard!" Velkan smiled again. "I'm looking forward for his reaction when he sees your dead body" A crackling and rustling sound came from the outside of the window. Meryl glanced outside and saw a massive block of what looked like cement fly across the window, two cables were attached to it.

_What kind of ploy is that! A cement block? _Velkan thought as he saw the odd sight. "I think Campbell has lost it"

A thundering sound came from the outside as the large cement block reached the ground. The cables were now perfectly straight and a few seconds later Meryl and Velkan could hear a high pitched mechanical sound. Something was coming through the cables at a very elevated speed. _Very clever uncle! _Meryl glanced at Velkan and saw his curious looks. She would have to time it perfectly if she wanted to get out alive.

_What the hell! _Velkan speculated what the noise could be, but the response came right away. A large metal scaffold rushed past the window and stopped just before it passed it completely, the next thing Velkan saw was something jumping over the window ceil, he fired but missed. Meryl had jumped without much care of what could happen to the scaffold. She landed on her back and gave a quick look around. She saw a large button with an arrow pointing down on it. Carefully she raised one of her legs and kicked it. The scaffold began to move down.

"NO!!" Velkan approached the windows as fast as he could, but with the cane he would be too slow, he then fired a few rounds to the only target available, the green lit up button beneath the window.

Meryl only descended a few feet before the scaffold stopped. _What now!! _She looked at the broken window above and saw Velkan's head appear. "Quite resourceful of Campbell I have to say, but flawed!!" Velkan shouted and Meryl saw what came next. His SOCOM came out of the window, Meryl got to her feet as fast as she could and without much thought she jumped over the protective rail of the scaffold.

* * *

Mei Ling thought could feel warm breeze go across the entire vent. She opened her eyes and saw that the flashlight was still on. The walls were now dripping. The fine thin layer of ice was disappearing. "Rose!" She stretched out her hand and pushed her shoulder.

Rose, who had, her head between her legs, lifted up her head and looked at Mei Ling. "Are you okay?" Mei Ling asked.

"What happened?" Rose noticed and felt liquid on her hands.

"The temperature is going up! The Colonel did it, he got to the roof! That sound we heard had to be the evacuation system being activated. C'mon we need to get out of here" Mei Ling sounded excited. With a refreshed vigor she resumed her walk towards the exit, towards Meryl's private room. Rose was following her, but in the back of her mind an idea brewed. _I need to help Meryl! I have to. _The walk was only uneventful for a few minutes since suddenly Mei and Rose heard an enormous thundering sound to the left. They had no idea what it was, but it shook the vent left and right for a second. "What was that!!?" Mei Ling asked knowing full well there was no way of knowing.

* * *

Naomi turned slowly and saw the beast in front of her. The large Black Hawk was hovering, very close to the ground. It turned and Naomi soon saw the person manning the large gun on the side. Its helmet and protective gear prevented Naomi from seeing the face of her killer.She closed her eyes and began to cry. The tears rushed past her eyes, over her mouth and fell to her clothes. _I hope to see you…Frankie. _The eminence of death brought several past memories to Naomi, what she had done, felt and regretted. Now it was all at an end, or so she thought. She recoiled as she heard the gunfire, but it was too distant to be the helicopter, she opened her eyes and looked at the helicopter and then to the side, following the sound of the gunfire. Johnny had his gun placed on top of one chimney and was now shooting at the helicopter's pilot. The blood spatters on the helicopter window alerted Naomi the pilot was severely wounded and the next thing she saw was the helicopter tuning abruptly towards her and hitting the ground with its small wheels and then lifting. The man that was manning the gun was now inside the cockpit, Naomi lowered her head and body and waited until the helicopter got past her, it cleared the building and from the noise it seemed to be descending. It didn't take long for Naomi to know exactly what had happened to the helicopter. The sound it had made and the vibrations it caused could only mean one thing. _It crashed!!_

Naomi got to her feet and saw Johnny far-away sprawled on the ground. She ran to him as quickly as possible, he was motionless with his head up and blood beneath him. She was going to check for his pulse, but Johnny quickly raised his hand and stooped Naomi's. "I'm fine …" He said. "They almost got me, but I guess they found you more interesting!!"

"You're bleeding!" Naomi pointed out.

"It's nothing, really!" Johnny replied.

"I'm a doctor please let me see." Naomi pleaded, she was about to touch Johnny when he spoke out.

"They shot me in the ass ok!! There's nothing to see!" Johnny replied and made an effort to get on his feet. "What now?" He asked.

"I…I don't know"


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Tiger was running through the corridor with several men around him. Going up the stairs to the guard house would be suicide so everyone had to run towards the guard's house from the camp. _I was careless…I thought Violet could do it, but I was wrong. _Tiger was the first out of the corridor, the frenzy outside was palpable. The alarm was ringing and a very large part of the men were running to the left towards the area of the guard house. Tiger was about to start following the men when a gloved hand stopped him. When he turned he saw the man he had dreamed about several times for the last few days, a kind of weird dream, that made no sense and that even so had made him suspicious. So suspicious that he had made a great effort to find exactly why this man was here and now, helping them. He had asked Phantom if he could find anything and he did. He found a large sum of files, all heavily encrypted, the suspicion grew stronger but he still had no real evidence to convict the man that had helped them so much in the past. "Ocelot!"

"It seems you have important matters on your hands, this night has been very eventful, but why have you left me in the dark?" Ocelot asked.

"These matters are relevant to the Black Unit, not you. Even though you've given us sanctuary this operation is, still, mine to run" Tiger replied grabbing Ocelot's right hand with his mechanical hand and pulling it from his chest. "Now I have to go!" Tiger looked away and sped off.

Ocelot stood still hearing the commotion of soldiers gearing up and moving away. _You'll soon know who this operation belongs too, these men…you have no idea who they are loyal to._

* * *

Raiden felt the pain on his leg ease up a bit. He could now stand without it hurting very much. He didn't have to lean on the desk in front of him anymore, but his hands were still bound by handcuffs and that could jeopardize Raiden and Otacon's plan. However they both knew they had to do something. The plan started as soon as Otacon spoke. "I've done it!" Otacon leapt from the chair and looked at one of the soldiers.

Curiosity is a funny thing, even though the soldiers were not technical savvy, one of them couldn't resist getting closer to Otacon. Close enough for Raiden to make his move. With a lightning fast speed Raiden kicked the nearest soldier gun into the air and then roundhouse kicked him square in the face, Otacon on the other hand lifted up both his arms, joined his hands and with as much strength as he could he struck the soldier on the back of the head near his neck, the blow wasn't enough for the soldier to fall to the ground, but he got disoriented. Raiden leaped and swerved his arms, handcuffed behind his back, beneath his legs. Raiden then jumped onto the desk supporting his weight with both his arms and kicking the soldier with both his feet, sending him to the ground unconscious. "Otacon!"Raiden said. "It's nice to see you alive"

"What do you mean alive?" Otacon asked as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

"A woman she had your CODEC and called us. She told us you were dead" Raiden replied taking her hand from Otacon and getting closer to the one of the unconscious soldiers.

"Susanne? That can't be, she was brought with me in a helicopter" Otacon replied.

"It's what she told Snake." Raiden searched and found the handcuffs key, once he got free he took both of the soldier's XM177's, two extra clips and placed everything on top of the desk next to the computer screen. 

"Can you call Snake?" Otacon asked.

"They took my CODEC. I tried to contact him, after the train derailment, but he didn't pick up."

"Train derailment! That can't be good! You have no idea where Snake is then?"

Raiden shook his head. "And there's something else, Liquid's here!" Raiden looked at Otacon and waited for his reaction.

The look of amazement was evident. "Liquid! Are you sure?" 

Raiden nodded and grunted.

"Oh my! Snake didn't kill him in Washington D.C.!" Otacon speculated on the consequences of Liquid still being alive. "But why is he here? Does it have some connection to the Black Unit or Metal Gear?" Otacon was speaking to himself while Raiden searched the soldiers for anything else of usefulness.

"Wait a second? Did you just say Metal Gear?" Raiden turned for a moment to look at Otacon.

"Yeah, I did…that radio!" Otacon noticed Raiden was holding a soldier's radio. "Give it to me, let me check something." 

Raiden obeyed and took the radio to Otacon. "We can call Snake with this, the transmission might not be the best but it could work." Otacon did something to the radio and called Snake's frequency.

"Otacon, I…I don't know if he's still alive." Raiden said, he had been fighting the idea that Snake was dead because that's what the enemy wanted, but now that he was here with Otacon, the feeling was more evident.

"A derailment won't stop him…I don't know if I'm getting through!" Otacon kept pushing the call button of the radio, but he heard nothing until a few seconds later. It sounded like a weird clicking noise. Raiden got closer to the radio on Otacon's hands and spoke into it. "Snake can you hear me?" 

"Raiden, where are you!" Snake's voice wasn't very crisp but he it was inimitable "I'm fine. Snake are you ok? I tried to contact you after the derail…"

"I busted my CODEC, but I have Otacon's. What about you…this transmission sounds weird"

"There's someone here than can tell you about it." Raiden replied and looked at Otacon. 

"Snake?" Otacon said. 

"Otacon! You're alive!" 

"Yeah I am, we're using an enemy radio, I got through to your frequency. Raiden tells me Susanne told you about an explosion, but she was mistaken! I don't understand she must have been…"

"She's with me Otacon, she's one of them." Snake replied.

Raiden who now scrutinizing the enemies XM177's looked attentively at the radio and then at Otacon.

"What? She's one of them?"

"I took your CODEC from her. She was leading me straight to the enemy" The news were shocking for Otacon to hear, he had been infatuated with this woman since he met her and it was all a trick, a twisted and cruel trick. "Her real name is Black Violet"

"How could she…" Otacon was looking for something to say, but the betrayal was too much. "How's that possible! I…I thought she liked…"

"Otacon, we can't do this, not now!" Snake quickly replied. "Where are you?"

Otacon sighed before answering. "We are in the main building inside what appears to a large fortress" There were more urgent issues to attend to, before Otacon could think about Susanne.

"I'm also inside but I don't have much time, they know I'm here and the alarm is bound to go off soon!" Snake replied.

"Well we are getting ready to escape." Otacon said and right away he saw Raiden raising his eyebrow in puzzlement.

"Escape, how?"

"I hacked my way into their system and found a way out. The main building only has one exit, we could head for the roof but it's dangerous and…and we still have a mission to complete"

"You're right we do. What's the other way?"

"I found a water conduit; big enough to swim through. It ends up on a water pumping station just behind the hangar"

"I can meet you there!" Snake replied.

"Alright…Snake what about her, Susanne."

"I'll take her with me." Snake replied. "Move out Otacon, well meet up in a few." 

"Wait, Snake there's something else I need to tell you, actually two things, two very important things." Raiden knew what was coming next, so he got a few feet away and went to guard the door.

"What?"

"He's here, Liquid is here and the Black Unit has a Metal Gear on their side."

"Metal Gear!" Snake answered. "And Liquid! Damn!"

A large sound flooded the room white and black marble room. "Snake? The alarm!" Otacon.

"We'll meet on the hangar, like you said. Get there you hear me!" Snake replied.

"Sure thing!" Otacon replied and turned off the radio.

"So where's this exit?" Raiden asked as he got closer to Otacon again.

"Just outside!"

"Then let's move!" Raiden replied as he got a XM177 at the ready and headed for the door.

"Right!" Otacon followed Raiden but stopped before Raiden had chance to open the door.

"Wait!"_I remember where I've seen a similar encryption! D.C.!_ "I need to do something before we can go." Otacon retreated to the desk and to the encrypted files. _Could they be Liquid's?_

* * *

Two of the things that forever changed Snake's life for the worse in just one sentence. "Metal Gear!" Snake said replying to Otacon. "And Liquid!" _I didn't kill him…_

But before Otacon could give any more insight in the matter a very loud sound echoed across the entire fortress. 

"The alarm!" Violet said smiling. "It's the end of the line for you Solid Snake!" 

"Snake? The alarm!" Otacon said stating the obvious.

"We'll meet on the hangar, like you said. Get there you hear me!" Snake replied.

"Sure thing!" Otacon said and signed off.

Snake looked at Violet and her beautiful face; she had a look of achievement. "You're coming with me."

"You actually think you're going to get to the hangar? It's several feet away. You'll get caught and killed before you can even reach the door." Violet said while Snake grabbed her by the arm. 

"We'll see…" Before Snake could head towards the door the windows shattered and the bullets invaded the guard house.

Snake's first instinct was to duck but before he could Violet spun around and kicked him on the chest, making him fall backwards. 

The bullets suddenly stopped and Snake saw Violet getting ready to kick Snake again. He rolled to the side and suddenly heard the door blast open. Two men were standing in the doorway. Snake would have to move fast, but because of the cramped space he had no choice but to reach for the small knife on his back with his left hand and use a kind of technique he was bit rusty on. 

"I'm Black Violet!" Violet shouted as she saw the soldiers pointing their guns at her. "He's there!" She pointed at Snake, but he was already on his feet and with a fast motion he lowered one of the man's guns with his left hand and then moved the knife towards the man's neck. A rapid turn of the arm and he sent the soldier to the ground. The other one was about to fire but Snake raised his leg and kicked him, he fell just outside the doorway. Violet was now coming towards him, she had her right arm ready to punch, but Snake was faster, he moved to the side and again with his left hand he trapped her right arm and twisted it, almost reaching the breaking point of the bone. 

"You'd hit a woman?" Violet said, feeling her arm almost breaking.

Snake twisted the arm a little bit more. "You're coming with me, let's go!"

"No, you can go ahead and break my arm, but that judo won't help you when you face all the men coming here! They should be here any second!" Violet diverted her eyes and looked at the side window. The soldiers would come rushing past it from the camp three hundred feet away soon.

"It's CQC!" Snake replied. "Now move!" Snake applied a little more pressure to Violet's already cramped up arm and suddenly let it go. Violet flinched and Snake quickly got beside her and grabbed her neck threatening her throat with the knife. "Let's move" Snake pushed Violet towards the doorway, she was now his hostage and hopefully they wouldn't shoot at him. Snake was still unsure if he would get to the hangar this way, but for now it was all he had, perhaps if he hadn't waited too long inside the guard house the situation might have been different. Violet was moving, for she had no visible ways to escape Snake's hold on her, but once they reached the doorway she found a way. A way that she would never thought of.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Steam was coming out of the many chimneys on the roof, clear proof that the environmental system was now back to normal.

"The bullet is still inside" Naomi said looking at Johnny's behind. She reached for something inside her lab coat pockets. _Where is it? _On her right pocket was Johnny's radio and on the left one was what she was looking for.

"Whoa! What are you going to do?" Johnny replied seeing Naomi holding a knife.

"I can see the bullet, don't worry!" Naomi replied placing the knife for a few seconds over the jet of stream that came from the nearby chimney.

"Can you just wait a second…I need to be prepared for it you know" Johnny was speaking very fast. "On second thought perhaps we should leave the bullet in, it builds character…OUCH!!"

Naomi placed the tip of the knife inside the wound and with a quick motion she jerked the bullet out.

"HOLY!! You're a terrible doctor!!" Johnny almost shouted but after a few seconds of very rapid breathing he calmed down. "Thanks for that!"

"You're welcome" Naomi threw the knife on the ground. She had no more use for it.

Johnny grabbed his gun that was lying on the ground next to the chimney and checked its ammo. "Well, we need to figure a way out of this building!" Johnny said as he looked at Naomi.

"I really don't know…wait" Naomi grabbed something on her lab right coat pocket. "I have an idea, but it's not to leave the building just yet"

"What? Listen we really need to get out of this building…"

"Not yet!" Naomi replied. "You need to help me. Come on, let's get to the elevator."

* * *

Since neither Mei Ling nor Rose had an answer for what had just shaken up the entire floor, they quickly got to Meryl's room and exited the vent. "I'm never going inside that thing again!" Mei Ling said when Rose finally got out of the vent. She jumped from Meryl's empty desk and saw the dead soldier's body, the one that Meryl had killed. "Alright, I think there's an access window near here" Mei ling was getting ready to exit the room when Rose stopped her.

"I can't. Not yet!"

"What!?" Mei Ling said. "Meryl said for us to take care of ourselves…"

"There must be something we can do. I'm tired of acting like a coward!" Rose replied raising her voice.

"Rose, there's nothing coward about this situation, we're unarmed, untrained…"

"I've got this!" Rose reached for something; the gun that Meryl had given her had been safely tucked away on her waist.

"You can't be serious! You want to take them all!" Mei Ling got closer to Rose. "Is that it!?"

"No, of course not!" Rose shook her head and felt her blonde hair slightly wet because of the water from the vent. "But there must be something we could do" Rose turned and sat on the empty desk. "Ever since I got pregnant Jack promised me he would be there to protect me, always. But it isn't so, there are some promises that you just can't keep. The thing in Washington D.C. and now this are proof of that, I've always been whining and complaining when I should be helping more" Rose took one of her hands to her eyes. "I heard Meryl say that she didn't want to be just a regular soldier she wants to be the best" Rose was now sobbing.

"Sometimes I feel like we're just secondary characters in a very large theater play" Mei Ling said. Rose looked at her through teary eyes and saw Mei Ling smiling. "Don't get me wrong, Snake, Raiden, Meryl even the Colonel, they are the heroes and we are just…" Mei Ling shrugged her shoulders. "…just our flawed selves. With no weapons no training, no fierce killer instinct, nothing, but our brains. We are just here to back them up so they can do all those things and come back alive. Even though I sometimes feel unappreciated I know that they would miss me if I didn't stop by from time to time"

"At least you have done something meaningful, with your life. Working for the SSCEN and still helping out Philanthropy. You're so young and you've already accomplished so much, but me. I've been analyst for as long as I can remember. I want to do something of importance…and that something is helping Meryl. I just know it is" Rose had stopped crying after Mei Ling's little pep talk. "I can't ask you to help me, but I need to stay here"

The situation was settled. Nothing Mei Ling said could've persuaded Rose to back down and after seeing her passionate reaction Mei Ling knew that her future was intertwined with Rose's. "I'll help you! But what exactly are we going to do?"

Rose was already thinking for the last several minutes. They could try and get back to the cafeteria through the vent but the notion immediately disappeared, like Mei she never wanted to see the inside of that vent again. The second idea she had was a more reasonable one, but dangerous. "We're going to towards the elevator, maybe we can find the Colonel"

Mei Ling nodded after she had fixed up her untidy hair into a small tight bun. "Alright!"

"I'll take the lead!" Rose placed the Colt M1991A1 on the desk and rolled up her sleeves. There was no more cold air to restrict her muscles and she was positive this was the right thing to do.

"Let's move!" Rose opened the room door and left.

Mei Ling followed her and although she felt apprehensive, she also she had to do this.

Rose felt the adrenaline rising after she left the room, even though the corridor was deserted the entire placed had an eerie feel to it. According to Mei the elevator, was still a few rooms and corridors away. Before they turned to a new corridor the sound of someone talking stopped both women.

"They're not here either!?"

"Let's move on then, hey you guys back there. You found anything?"

A few more voices came from further away.

"No! The rooms are clear!"

"All clear!"

Rose and Mei stood perfectly still and heard the men starting to walk towards their location.

"Let's go around!" Mei Ling whispered.

Rose nodded and turned to the other side, if they went around through the other corridor, no one would see them, or so they thought. A single soldier was investigating a room, at the time he was coming out he saw the two women.

"Stop!!" Rose and Mei Ling heard the soldier shouting and fear engulfed them. Rose's reaction was unforeseen by the soldier, she had raised her right hand and with it the Colt that Meryl had given her. The solider was reacting but Rose had been faster. The shot reverberated across the several corridors and with certainty alerted the other soldiers. Rose shot the soldier square in the heart, he fell forwards on his gun and Rose saw the blood appearing underneath his body covering the shiny and reflective tiles.

"Let's go!!" Mei Ling shouted grabbing Rose as she let go of the Colt.

_I killed him!! _Rose felt Mei Ling's push and followed her.

"They're behind us!!" Mei Ling took a right when she glanced back and saw the other four soldiers running towards them. The skirt she was wearing didn't help when running but she couldn't exactly stop to figure something out. Before they made a sharp turn left past the lounge area the soldiers began firing, they missed but soon they would reach them. "Rose, pick up the pace!" Mei Ling spat back and noticed Rose's stricken eyes.

For the past seconds the image of the soldier dead was imprinted in her mind, Mei Ling knew she couldn't relate, but Rose's timing was beyond awful. _Alright, this is where…no! Crap! _Mei Ling had come to Philanthropy several times, but sometimes the floor seemed like a giant maze and the way she had thought out to get to the elevator now seemed wrong. _Is it that way? _She couldn't stop running or let go of Rose, for fear she would just stop and get killed.

"You can't hide forever!!" A voice shouted from not too far.

Mei Ling took a new turn and knew that she had made the wrong one, for a soldier was right before her, his equipment seemed rather dirty and he was walking towards them with a limp. His gun was pointed directly at Mei Ling.

* * *

The entire base of Velkan's operation was in the surrounding area of elevator one, and although it was spacious for a lot of men it was now in complete silence and almost empty. Three people were all that was left. Campbell had been wondering if he should have another go to get free, but the soldiers seemed to be rather on edge. He diverted is eyes to the desk he had been seated next too. _So that's how they did it. _He hadn't noticed it before, but the laptop on top of the desk had a thick wire going out of the back of the laptop and into a small box that was cramped inside a small freshly made hole in the wall. _They diverted everything, one team on this elevator and another one near the other. _Now it seemed that Campbell hadn't thought of everything when he tried to make this place as safe as possible, but that still didn't answer how Velkan found it. The Patriots had no way to find it, or had they? Campbell had to clear the doubts, something had made Velkan come to this place today, on the day that Snake and Raiden had gone on their mission, that much he had been told by Velkan but some blanks still needed to be filled.

A loud ping noise cut through the silence. _The elevator? _Campbell looked at the call button of the elevator and saw it lit up. It was coming down to the floor.

"Call the Major! We need to warn him" One of the soldiers said to the other.

"Right away!" The soldier grabbed his radio as the other got closer to the elevator door.

_Could it be Naomi? Maybe if I… _Campbell was conjuring up a plan. _If she has a gun like she did when she went up then…_

"It's almost here!" The other one said interrupting Campbell's thoughts.

The soldier was about to push the call button on the radio when Campbell suddenly moved. He got to his feet, grabbed the back of the plastic chair he was sitting on and threw it as strong as possible to the soldier's head. He collapsed on the floor sending the radio flying from his hand. The soldier by the elevator doors, whipped around upon hearing the weird commotion behind him and saw Campbell standing up and his fellow comrade down on the ground unconscious. He raised his gun and got ready to fire. At the same time the elevator door opened up. Campbell could see Naomi and by her side was the same soldier that had went up with her with a gun on his hands. _No! The soldier caught her!! _Fortunately that wasn't the case. Using the butt of his gun Johnny knocked out the soldier right next to the doors.

Campbell was staring at Naomi and the soldier beside her. "Naomi?"

"Colonel, are you okay?" She asked leaving elevator towards him, carefully avoiding stepping on both unconscious soldiers.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired." Campbell replied.

"You look a little pale." Naomi said taking her hand to Campbell's forehead. "You have a slight fever!"

"What's his story?" Campbell asked noticing the idle soldier standing next to the elevator opened doors.

"He helped me. He stopped the helicopter, from killing me." Naomi replied.

"What? A helicopter! They were on the roof?" Campbell asked with a puzzled looked on his eyes.

"Yeah, I was surprised too."

"It was our evacuation plan, the Colonel wanted to see…" Before Johnny could finish his sentence a distant sound alerted Campbell. _That gunshot…my Colt. Meryl!!_

* * *

Even though the idea wasn't a very intelligent one, self preservation of one's self is ultimately stronger than any reasoning. Meryl had cleared the railing of the scaffold and now found herself several stories above ground grabbing the scaffold ledge. She also quickly realized that she was just prolonging the inevitable. Her right arm felt like agony as she felt the blood rushing out of the bullet wound a lot faster than before. Velkan stopped firing his gun for he couldn't make the shot. "That's quite dramatic little girl, but pointless. You'll have to come up again or you'll fall, but maybe that's what you want. Then go ahead, let yourself go!!" Velkan laughed out loud, the pleasure he got from the situation was disturbing. "I wonder what Campbell would say if he knew you took your own life!" Velkan laughed even louder. "Priceless!" He said. "Oh, can you hang on? I have someone trying to reach me!" Velkan laughter died out a few seconds later. Meryl could still hear him talking but she couldn't distinguish any words. Her grip was loosening, she tried to pull her head up, but she didn't make it, her right arm was in really bad shape. _Damn him!! I can't hold on much longer! _Then Meryl heard a voice coming from her equipment, the enemy radio that she had. She had left it on because ever since the enemy found that she had one they had changed all communications to secure frequencies, but this communication sounded like an emergency one. "To anyone listening, this Hawk One!! The pilot was shot and I can't land!! I repeat I can't land!!" The noise suddenly reached Meryl's ears; she looked up and saw a massive Black Hawk down clearing the roof and descending quite rapidly, even worse it was heading straight towards her.

"Crap I can't get it steady!! I've just cleared the roof, his body is preventing me from piloting…maneuverability is low!!" Meryl noticed the helicopter was swerving a bit to the right most part so she tried her best to shimmy across the scaffold's ledge to the left. The Black hawk was almost near Meryl, the sight was amazing and so was the crash, as the man inside the helicopter spoke his last words. "Damn, I'm falling fast, controls are…" The helicopter's blades hit the windows of the several vacant floors above the Philanthropy floor. The rotor blades split apart, making the helicopter turn. The cabin was pointed to the ground and it freefall until hitting the right thick cable holding the scaffold. Then it turned again on its belly and crashed right into the Philanthropy floor, the shock was tremendous. Thick bulletproof glass from Philanthropy's windows shattered, the entire scaffold shook and the right side caved. The entire thing began to tilt, Meryl saw her right hand letting go of the ledge and she felt the left one slipping. Without being able to resist she slid down the ledge. The tail of the helicopter seemed to be in stress because about half of the helicopter cabin had gone inside the floor. Meryl was still holding for dear life, but the tail would soon collapse into the scaffold. Since 

the scaffold was tilted Meryl tried her best to roll herself towards the safe area instead of pulling up, after a few tries when she almost felt that her left hand would go off the ledge she managed to get on top of it. Her muscles were hurting like never before, she took a quick deep breath and saw that the tail was moving slightly up and down. _Oh no! _The ordeal wasn't over yet, she had to find a way out of the predicament but there was no solution in sight. Her eyes moved left and right, up and down, with her left hand secured on the rugged metal surface of the scaffold, she began to move up the tilted platform. The noises coming from the helicopter didn't bode well for her. The sound of metal giving in was a sure bet that the collapse was near. She reached the end of the scaffold and looked up to the window where Velkan was before, now instead was the large Black Hawk cabin. She couldn't reach it on her own. _I can't believe this! _Her next step was as folly as the one she had made to escape Velkan, she took her left hand and grabbed a thick sturdy shaft that held the back wheel of the helicopter, she applied just a little bit of pressure to see if didn't collapse immediately. As it didn't, she closed her eyes. _I can do this, I can live through this. _She then took a better hold of the shaft raised her right leg and got on top of the tail. The sound of metal dethatching itself was more apparent. A small vibration sent Meryl into alert, she moved as fast and as softly as possible. She even used her right arm to keep balanced. The window ceil was now in reach, the next thing she knew she jumped from the tail and grabbed the window ledge. A fraction of a second later the tail flew apart from the cabin and into the scaffold. With all that weight the scaffold didn't hold and it too flew towards the ground.

Meryl took a new deep breath. Eventually she would pull herself up but for now she felt great, her left arm was safely over the ledge and she had a nice grip. _I did it!! _The happiness she was feeling was strange. At one, if not the most dangerous moment of her life she felt serene through the entire ordeal. Scared but serene, the thought was even more confusing when she found herself whishing it wasn't over because the rush had been so exciting albeit life threatening. Unfortunately sometimes we should be careful for what we wish for.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

"What are you talking about? Can't you hear that sound? We need to get out of here!" Raiden said to Otacon.

"The exit is in the next door, we'll be fine. I just need to make sure of something" Otacon was now in front of the computer again and his suspicions were indeed correct. "I was right…this encryption. Let's see"

The commotion outside the building was audible even on the second floor, something big was happening.

"Otacon?" Raiden said keeping one eye on the room dooras the alarm rang.

"Just a sec…" Otacon replied shaking his hand. And then he cracked it, the files were opened and a multitude of information appeared on the screen. Most of it seemed to be financial reports of several companies, something Otacon knew fairly little about. There was also what looked like a report on Nanomachines and its impact in military warfare, but what really caught Otacon's attention were personal records of five people. _The Black Unit! _Otacon rushed his eyes through the information as fast as he could, the report seemed to include every bit of information about the members and where they operated. Otacon stopped when he reached Black Phantom's file, also known as Dr. Ed Brown.

"Otacon, come on!!" Raiden said feeling a bit anxious.

Otacon even took his finger to the screen to help him read. Suddenly something struck him, a bit of information that if true changed everything about Ed Brown's convictions. _Can this be true? It has to be. These files, they're his, Liquid's. _

The alarm suddenly stopped.

"Otacon!" Raiden was by his side. "Let's go, now!" Raiden grabbed Otacon right arm and pulled him.

"But those files!" Otacon replied seeing the computer screen getting away.

"Forget them for now alright?" Raiden said letting go of Otacon and reaching for the door's handle. The black and white marble corridor was empty, but not for long. The large iron door at the end of the corridor, the one they needed to go through was opening. "Crap! Get back!" Raiden cringed and held back Otacon. He then closed the door, got beside and just opened it slightly so he could see who was leaving the room.

_That guy!_

Black Ronin was coming out of the room. "What!!" Ronin said raising his voice to an acute shriek and turning on the spot.

Otacon immediately wondered who could scream like that. "Who is that?"

"One of them!" Raiden replied seeing that in Black Ronin's back a slight bump over his clothes.

"NOOOO!!"

What Raiden saw next baffled him, Ronin pulled a sword from his back with an unreal speed, it had been carefully hidden underneath his clothes and it was placed upside down. Then with another lighting fast motion he thrust it towards the side wall. _What reflexes!! _The white and black marble shattered and broke, several pieces fell to the ground and so did Ronin. Raiden could hear his sobs. _Why is he crying? And why would he be crying… _From the last few encounters Raiden had always thought the man was tough even though he appeared fragile, but now he was acting exactly like he looked.

Black Ronin had his left hand on his head probably trying to wipe the tears.

_Maybe… _Raiden was about to leave the room when he felt Otacon stopping him.

"Are you crazy!?" He whispered.

"Our mission is to kill them!" Raiden snapped back at Otacon

"…" Otacon had no reply, but Raiden's response was filled with wrath.

It was too late as Black Ronin was on his feet again.

"Very well!" Ronin said still sobbing, he grabbed his sword, which was still incrusted in the wall and took it out. Raiden noticed its blade was very carefully treated and the engravings on the handle were incredible.

Ronin placed the sword on his back again and nodded. "I'll be there!"

Raiden noticed Ronin turning and beginning to walk, he closed the door and waited. The XM177 was ready. In case he opened the door Raiden would not hesitate. However the door remained shut for the next few seconds. Raiden's nanofinder vibrated frantically but just for a few moments. He was gone.

Raiden sighed. "I had a chance to get him!" He said looking at Otacon.

"You seem rather eager to kill him, is there a problem?" Otacon replied pushing his glasses up his nose.

"No, no problem." _He's right!! What's wrong with me, I'm too eager, too foolish as Snake said…_ "Let's just go" Raiden dismissed the feelings and headed out into the corridor.

"Alright, next to that door, we need to find a water source. I really don't know the layout of the room but I do know it's big." Otacon said seeing that beside the door was a small button and now both Raiden and Otacon could see what was written on a sign over the door. Two Japanese characters, 浪人.

Otacon pushed the small button beside the door and it started to lift itself up. The entrance was exactly like a common and very traditional Japanese entrance hall complete with a small step for people to leave their shoes. The inside of the room however was very small and odd. The floor was made of wood and it was surrounded by wood panels.

"This can't be it!" Raiden said.

"Wow, great entrance hall!" Otacon pointed out as he reached for a panel that looked out of place. "This should slide right open" Otacon placed his hand on the side of the panel and pulled.

"Whoa!!" Raiden and Otacon were simultaneous in their reaction.

* * *

It had never crossed Violet's mind that she would end up like this, nothing had prepared her for this. The three bullets that roared from the soldier's XM177 and hit Violet's chest where its last, Snake who had his SOCOM on his right hand shot the soldier right on the head. Unfortunately the harm had been done, the soldier that lied flat on the floor and that foolishly aimed at the doorway in hope to hit Snake had shot Violet instead. The wounds were deadly and she slipped away from Snake's grip falling right next to the doorway. With her face to the side she could see a small light coming from the lonely lamp over the gate some fifty feet away. Her breathing was faltering and the next thing she saw was Snake kneeling over her dying body.

"You're going to die" Snake said bluntly but with a serene tone.

Violet opened her eyes wide and her breathing quickened, now that someone had told her what her fate was going to be it seemed and felt more real. The pain on her chest was bad but she couldn't really show it for her body felt locked and unable to move.

Snake looked at Violet's fading eyes, he should've run away from the area but seeing such a beautiful face with such an awful expression was painful. A pain he had caused.

_You had to die. But it shouldn't have been like this. _Snake could now hear the commotion, the running of people made for a very threatening sound. "I'm sorry!" 

Snake said placing his gloved hand over Violet's forehead. She wanted to say something but all Snake could discern was 'You' several times.

"I'm sorry because I wish there was another way, but death is always the same" Snake removed his hand from Violet's head and got on his feet. "You won't survive even if help comes" Snake said and ran towards the open area outside of the guard's house. He glanced to the right side and saw a handful of soldiers running towards his direction with several others following behind. Luckily since it was night Snake wasn't seen as he ran towards the hangar. Regrettably the small side door of hangar opened up and revealed more bad news; several men were now coming out also trying to find the intruder. Snake was now near the large tents in the area in front of the hangar. He hid behind one of them as he saw the distant hangar soldiers heading his way. _Crap! _Soldiers were approaching his position from the right and from the front. To the left several feet away was the fortress wall and to the back was the guards' house and the gate. _I'm trapped! _Moving out, away from the small protection of the tents would be his death. Snake weaved across the tents to get a better look, at the scene. The soldiers were now reaching the guard's house. He saw them stop when they reached the doorway and it was there he saw the same man he had met several months ago in high sea aboard the Unknown carrier. _It's definitely him._

* * *

Tiger saw all the soldiers around him standing still and looking at him. He got to the guard's house a second later and saw two bodies in the doorway. One was of a soldier that had been shot in the head; the other however was a member of his Unit. "VIOLET!!" Tiger didn't scream, but his voice was loud, like he was calling her to stay awake. He got closer to her and saw that a soldier was inside looking at her wounds. "What are you doing?" Tiger asked.

"I'm a field doctor!" He replied with a thick Arabic accent. "I'm afraid her wounds are too seve…"

"NO!!" Tiger shouted and his voice echoed through the guard's house. "Get out!!" He said ignoring the doctor and focusing his eyes on Violet. "Violet can you hear me?" her eyes were opening and closing intermittently. She made no sound. "Oh Violet! Why couldn't I dream…I…I could have…prevented it…stopped it…" Tiger held Violet's head up in hope she would open her eyes and look at him. Violet's eyes opened slightly and she saw Tiger's face. She made a few faint sounds before speaking. "…my….my….l o v e…" Tiger felt Violet's last breath on his face and was instantly brought back to the moment when he had first met her.

After Tiger had recruited Garand and Phantom, he carried on a search for new members of his elite unite. Weapons specialists, cold blooded killers, they were all on his list, but the next member came to him in a most unexpected way. It was a rainy night when Tiger roamed the streets of an eastern European city, when he heard a female voice screaming for help. The American accent was unmistakable; he ran towards the voice and saw the despicable scene unfold in front of him. In a small alley he saw three men surrounding a woman. They spoke about things they would do to the woman. Tiger couldn't let it go on. He ran towards the men and without much hassle he killed them all, the woman was on the ground weeping when she saw Tiger cut the men with his blade like they were nothing. She stopped crying immediately and a sense of happiness filled her. After all the men were on the ground dead, the woman smiled and looked up at Tiger.

"_You're fine now!"_ Tiger said as he saw the woman's face dirty with mud. He helped her up and took her to a nearby boarding house. She hadn't spoken a word since the event. In fact the only expression she had made was a smile after Tiger killed the three 

men. Tiger had tried to leave the woman safely inside the room, but she wouldn't let go of him. They slept in the same bed over the covers and the woman had her arm around Tiger's arm all night. The next morning Tiger woke up and saw that the woman wasn't beside him, she had been in the bathroom for Tiger could hear the water running. The next minute she came out with a large towel wrapped around her body. It was then that Tiger saw her face cleaned up and his breath almost faltered. She was the most beautiful woman Tiger had ever seen. She looked at Tiger and spoke. _"Thank you for last night."_ She said with a voice so sweet and calm.

"_You're welcome."_ Tiger replied leaving the bed. _"I will go now, be careful"_ Even though Tiger wanted to gaze at the woman's' beauty he had more important things to do. He moved to the door and turned the knob but a hand stopped his, the woman then placed her hands on Tiger's shoulders and got close to his left ear. _"Please don't go just yet…I need you…I need you to teach me how to kill!" _

The next few days Tiger spent knowing the woman. He hadn't agreed to teach her anything, but he would help her defend herself, he had discovered her name was Victoria Olsen Ethan and that she had worked in several clubs as a dancer with the stage name of Violet. However sometimes people ill-treated her and she had no means of protecting herself. She worked hard for a measly pay and she hadn't any money to buy protection. The entire thing sickened Tiger and so he decided to help Victoria. Over the next days, Tiger spent looking for people to recruit and at night he would return to help Victoria and to sleep by her side, but she was now different, she had a steadfast confidence in her eyes and she wanted to be called Violet instead of Victoria. Tiger wondered what it could have prompted the change and he found later in the week. A warrant on her arrest was issued by the police. According to it a woman had killed five men in the last three days. Tiger immediately knew who it had been. He confronted Victoria and saw a different person, a killer with no remorse. She told him that she had attracted the men with her looks and had killed him afterwards. Tiger looked her in the eyes and didn't saw a killer inside, he saw a troubled woman and he also saw the woman he loved more than anything in this world. Tiger had no doubts in his mind.

"_You need to come with me! We're leaving"_

"_Where?"_

"_Somewhere you belong, Violet"_

Victoria smiled. _"Thank you, my love."_

Tiger left the country and brought her with him to the unit. And after several years together, after countless missions where she would use her beauty to trick and confuse their enemies her beautiful face was now expressionless. She was dead.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Tiger had never felt so strange, something inside him told him to cry, to pour his feelings out, but something held him back, a sense of revenge and rage that soon filled his entire body. Tiger took his hand to Violet's face and felt her silk smooth skin, it was getting cold. Tiger closed Violet's eyes and rest her head on the ground. "I want some of you to take her to the main building" Tiger said standing up. "The rest search the place! He must be around hiding somewhere, find him and bring him to me!! Move!!" The soldier around dispersed and Tiger watched until Violet was taken by at least seven soldiers, they held her like the precious treasure she was. Tiger sighed heavily, turned on his VOXER and headed towards the gate. It was the only place where there weren't a lot of guards around. "Phantom!?" He said into the radio. There was no reply. "Phantom!!" He raised his voice.

"Tiger is that you!? I'm sorry I didn't hear you, I finish the installation just now!! It took longer than expected but the DRS is up and running. I just need to activate it and hopefully it will be ready in twenty minutes or less!"

"Phantom you didn't hear the alarm?" Tiger asked.

"Alarm, no! So that's why the men guarding the hangar left so abruptly. Why what happened?"

"The plan backfired, V didn't get Snake. He tricked her and now…" Tiger got closer to the gate and turned his head to it. "…V is dead!" he smashed his mechanical hand on the gate, making a small hole on a very thick wood board.

"Oh…dear god!" Phantom replied.

"God has nothing to with this Phantom! Violet's dead, Solid Snake killed her. He's still around, he's here somewhere! You said the men in the hangar left?"

"Yes, I saw them going through the small window on the door, I didn't know what was going on but I made no case of it" Phantom replied.

"So he must still be around that area" Tiger turned around and rested his eyes on the large area in front of the hangar populated with tents. "Can you kill the alarm Phantom? I want him to think he's safe, I want him to make a mistake so I can catch him and kill him!"

"Right away Tiger"

A few seconds later the alarm died out and Tiger shouted to the man near him. "Search near those tents, sweep that entire place, trash the tents if you have too but find him!!" The men began running towards the tent area.

"Tiger, what about…" Phantom was about to ask something when Tiger interrupted him.

"The plan goes on as usual; we can't let them stop us. Keep up the work inside the hangar"

"I'm going to retire to the control room and boot up the systems." Tiger heard Phantom saying. "What about Marsh?"

"I'll deal with it. Tiger out!" Before calling Marsh, Tiger looked at the upheaval in front of him. _I'll find you Solid Snake! I'll punish you for what you did to them, Garand, Violet and even Salil!_

Tiger then called Marsh on the VOXER. Marsh and Violet had always had a strong relationship. "Marsh?"

"Yes?" Marsh replied calmly. "I heard the alarm, is something wrong do you need Black Ronin's help." Marsh spoke of himself in the third person, Tiger knew he was fooling around with him. Marsh was the only that Tiger let do this, but the matter was too serious for fun. "Something has happened and I do need your help"

"Good, I was bored of meditation. I'm leaving right now!" Marsh replied.

"There's something I have to tell you. It's about V, I sent her to intercept the intruder, to trick him"

"Yes? So? Wait the alarm, he got away from V?" Marsh replied.

"No!" Tiger wasn't sure what kind of reaction Marsh would have. "V...Violet is dead."

"What!!" Tiger heard Marsh scream.

"It's true Marsh, she's gone!!"

"NOOOO!!" Marsh's next scream almost deafened Tiger and then he heard a clashing sound. _Marsh! _The sound of Marsh crying was the only thing that Tiger heard next. _I know how it must feel, what she was to you! But I need you to be strong! _"Black Ronin, the man who killed her is loose, somewhere inside this fortress. Help me catch him and kill him"

"Very well!" Ronin replied.

"Search near the main building area, he could've circled around the tents near the hangar and headed that way."

"I'll be there!" Ronin replied and signed off.

Tiger than looked at his mechanical hand. _You took my hand from me Solid Snake, but I will be the one to finally take your life!!"_

* * *

"It's a Japanese garden!" Otacon said as he gazed upon the beauty that presented before him.

"What's it doing here? And why?" Raiden was not floored by the beauty like Otacon.

"No idea!" Otacon replied walking inside. The temperature was cooler than outside but not by very much. There was a small bridge that led to a small island in the middle, the grass was of a vibrant green and a small cherry blossom tree gave a very nice shade. Otacon then noticed that if there was a shade, that meant it was still day but on a closer look to the roof of the room Otacon saw that there were several ambient lights around. _This is beautiful! _He thought as he looked around the great room. There was another bridge opposite the one they were in that led to a large house made of wood panels.

"Ronin is a Japanese word right?" Raiden asked as he cleared the bridge.

"Ronin, of course" Otacon replied remembering seeing the name on the files just while ago. "Black Ronin. Wow they must have used a lot of money on this place" Otacon pointed out as he got close to the cherry blossom tree.

"The question is why?" Raiden said wondering why would anyone waste money on this.

"Look!" Otacon had seen something for he was pointing to something just over the rim of the island. "That's the passage" Otacon pointed underwater where something dark, like a manhole was located. "Alright, I'll check it out!" Raiden replied. He left his XM177 on top of the green grass and dived into the water. The manhole was big enough for one person, just like Otacon had said, but the current seemed to be rather strong as it pushed Raiden away.

"Well how is it?" Otacon asked whilst Raiden surfaced.

"Not good actually!!" The current is way too strong. How long is it to the pumping station?"

"A few feet!!" Otacon replied, knowing that this was the only safe way out.

"How many feet?" Raiden asked stroking his arms to stay on the surface.

"Actually about sixty five feet."

"Sixty five!! With that current, no way!" Raiden shook his head. "We have better chances if we go outside and face them all!"

"We have to do it, it's our only way?" Otacon replied taking out his sweaty jacket and getting ready to enter the water.

"Can you hold your breath for a few minutes, because that's how long it's going to take." Raiden said as he saw Otacon jumping inside the water.

"Yeah, sure" He replied.

"Alright, let me just…" Raiden pulled both Otacon's jacket and the XM177 and threw them inside the water. "…just in case somebody comes back to this place!"

"Let's do this then!" Otacon said and began to breathe harder and faster.

"I'll go first" Raiden said and saw Otacon nodding frantically.

And so after a few seconds they were both underwater and heading towards the manhole.

* * *

Snake kept a close eye on the man as he bent down and spoke rather loudly next to the dying body of Black Violet. _She's probably dead by now! _Snake thought while he turned his head and saw the same soldiers that had left the hangar now heading towards him. _I need to move! _Snake circled around a big tent and noticed what was being kept under it. Wooden crates filled with guns and cardboard boxes filled with rations and supplies. _What's all this!!_ Snake proceeded carefully, while men passed right through the other side of the tent. Before heading towards the hangar Snake noticed that even if he wanted he couldn't get to the main building. Soldiers were pouring out. _I've really shook up this place! _Snake then heard a distant shout "Search near those tents, sweep that entire place, trash the tents if you have too but find him!!" Snake looked to the side and saw several men running towards his position, even the men that had just passed through the tent turned around and spread out. _Crap!! _Snake was getting surrounded, the circle was getting tighter and tighter around him and soon he would be found.

Snake turned, frenetically his head left and right in search for some means of escape, but he saw none. "Damn!" He whispered to himself, holstered his SOCOM and knife and then grabbed his M4, he would have to fight his way into the hangar giving away his position and probably sending the already screwed operation further down the drain. Snake was now retreating inside, waiting for the enemy soldiers to get closer. Then he bumped into something, an empty supply cardboard box. _Humph…_

The soldiers walked right past Snake's position without even noticing him. _My friendly cardboard box! _Snake thought while he waited for an opening to sneak past the soldiers and head to the hangar. The opportunity came a few seconds later, Snake proceed underneath the cardboard box, stopping every few feet next to a tent when he heard close footsteps. When he finally reached the hangar, he headed towards the small door on the side. There was a small lamp just over the side door and a button was also beside it. Snake quickly got out of the cardboard box glanced behind and saw the running and walking of the soldiers. He pushed the button and got as fast as he could inside.

Unlike the noise and openness of the outside, where Snake was in now was awful quiet and cramped. It was a very long dark blue corridor with several mounted lights on the side. Snake could discern three doors to the right, a few feet away two were very close together while the other one was closer to Snake.

There was also another door at the end of the corridor just opposite the one he had just used. Snake walked to the one closer to him and noticed that it had a small window. He peeked inside and saw that there was a small light source inside; he also saw what looked like a human figure on the ground. Snake reached for the knob, it was rigid. He applied a little more strength and got it open. It was definitely a person that was on the ground, the light source was from a small desk lamp that was sitting on top of a weird 

computer, and something about it looked familiar. _It's too dark! _Snake groped the wall next to the door in search for a light switch, but before he found it Snake felt a prickling on his back and then pain over his entire spine. It didn't even last for a second but it was enough to send him to the ground.

"Solid Snake!" Someone said from behind. Snake, who was on his belly turned around and at the same time reached for his SOCOM. He pointed his gun and immediately felt another prickling sensation and the next thing he saw was a blue light before he could even fire. It was an electric shock so strong it sent the SOCOM flying from his hands. After the pain stopped he could still feel his hands trembling and he could also see who was in front of him by the doorway. It was someone wearing a large hazmat suit, so big it prevented the light from the corridor to get inside the room he was in.

"Nice to finally meet you, I'm Phantom!"


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

"That's Meryl!!" Campbell said raising his voice after the gunshot. "That's definitely a Colt!" He said looking at the corridor right next to him. "Hurry, help me!" Campbell got a hold of one of the unconscious soldier HKG36K and checked it for bullets. "Didn't you hear me?" Campbell turned to the soldier next to Naomi.

"Who me!?" Johnny raised both his hands. "Sorry but I had my fair share of…"

"Are you soldier or not?" Campbell almost shouted.

The roaring sound of machine gunfire sounded closer. _I just hope that's Meryl and not the enemy. _Campbell thought as he turned around and faced the corridor. "Naomi, stay here and wait for us!" He began moving towards the corridor.

"Go with him!" Naomi looked at Johnny and although she couldn't see his face she could almost guess his reaction.

Johnny sighed and nodded. He then raised his gun and proceeded behind Campbell. The gunshot he had sustained in the behind was still hurting and this made Johnny move a lot slowly and with a slight limp.

It didn't take long for them to get separated, the place was chaotic to Johnny but luck was on his side, after a turn he saw two women in front of him, he began walking towards them and saw that the first one, had a scared look on her face. The other one, a blond woman, however had a weird look in her eyes. "This way!" Johnny spoke. "Naomi is by the elevator!" He said and immediately saw the puzzled look on the first woman's eyes.

In fact she was about to say something when a voice behind the two women stopped her.

"I found you now!!" It was an enemy soldier. "She's here! Hey!! You there! What are you doing?" The soldier asked Johnny.

"Well…I was about to take them to the elevator" Johnny replied.

"No, these bitches die here, they shot one of us!" The soldier said when other two soldiers arrived behind him. "You can tell the Major they were armed and we had to shoot them. Now you two turn around!" The soldier commanded.

Mei Ling and Rose were still facing Johnny when they heard the enemy's command. They obeyed and apprehensively began to turn around.

"Look at this, two beautiful women!" The soldier laughed for a second. "Not for long…" The soldier had his gun pointed at Mei Ling, she closed her eyes and heard several gunshots but not one hit her. When she opened her eyes, she saw the three soldiers in front of her dead on the ground, blood pools around their bodies and Campbell standing beside them.

"It's you two!" Campbell got closer to them. "Are you ok? Where's Meryl!?"

Rose who had kept quiet for so long finally said something. "She saved us and we left her…" The stony look in her eyes was still there.

"What!?" Campbell asked and afterwards took a deep breath. "Let's move toward the elevator for now!"

As they all turned around Johnny was whimpering over the corner. "Let's go!" Campbell said as he saw Johnny staying behind.

Johnny lowered his gun and followed everyone back to the elevator. _I need to get out of here! I don't feel so good._

* * *

Meryl had recovered enough to heave herself up the window ledge and land safely on the ground. _I did it! _She looked around and saw that there was blood coming from the front of the cabin. She also inspected her right arm and shivered. She could see 

something shiny inside her flesh, due to the stress she had put on the arm the bullet was now in view. _Oh…_ Meryl lifted her left hand and took it to the wound. _Should I do it? Is it going to hurt? Just do it!! _Meryl looked at the small reflection and took her left hand to it. It felt incredibly weird and the pain was terrible. She grinded her teeth to hold the pain and after a few seconds she got a hold of the bullet. _Pull it!! Pull it!! _She wanted more than anything to take the bullet out, but the fear of a pain beyond what she could endure prevented her. _Just do it, damn it!! _Meryl pulled the bullet, saw it with her eyes and then threw it to the ground. The bullet, even deformed, rolled to the side and hit someone's foot. Meryl swallowed dry when she saw who it was. _Velkan! He's still alive. _Velkan was indeed still alive, but in very bad shape. His left eye was bleeding badly and his uniform was cut on his chest and a large cut was visible.

"I must say…" Velkan walked towards Meryl, who was on the ground next to the window, supporting his weight with his well-built cane. "…you're a tough woman. I didn't think you'd survive that. Heck! Even I was lucky. I used my precious eye and saw the thing falling down. I backed away from the window, but just not enough" Velkan got closer to Meryl. She could only wonder how a man that looked to be in his fifties with several wounds, was so fit and not looking tired.

"I hope by now you'll be too weak to resist" Velkan said just a few inches from Meryl.

Meryl wanted to get up, she used her left arm to get on her feet, but Velkan was faster, with a swift motion of his cane he hit Meryl on the face and she immediately stopped moving.

"Go to sleep, next time you wake up your uncle will be dead!!"

* * *

He had been running for almost a minute now, heading towards the sound of the blast. The Major felt that he was now closer and soon enough he found exactly what had happened. About half of the great Black Hawk cabin was inside the floor. He could also see Velkan swinging his cane to someone who was on the ground. _Colonel, you're alive!_ The Major ran towards the scene unsure if Velkan being alive was a good or bad thing. The Colonel was saying something but he didn't catch what it was.

"Colonel?"

Velkan slowly turned around. "Ah, Major, nice of you to come look for me, but I have the situation under control.

"Sir, the Black Hawk…"

"No need to worry Major, even if I can't have my way with this building I will still come out of this on top" Velkan replied.

The sound of remote gunfire was heard by Velkan and the Major. Velkan's' stern face was something that didn't bode well for the Major.

"What is that?" Velkan asked. "You still haven't caught the two others!!"

A few seconds later more gunfire was heard.

_I don't like this. _The Major thought and when finally the shots were replaced by silence he reached for his radio, but someone was already trying to call him.

"Major this is team two. I lost contact with my men!"

"Stay calm soldier." The Major covered his radio and spoke to Velkan.

"Sir, I had men searching to the two missing…"

Velkan sighed. "Your incompetence astounds me Major. You mean to tell me that heavily trained soldiers were unable to catch two women" Velkan paused for a second. "What about Campbell?"

"He's still near elevator one. I have two men there" The Major replied.

"Good. Call team two, send them to the basement" Velkan's response made the Major's eyes open wide.

"Sir?"

"We need men down there in case they try to use this evacuation system, as for us we're still not finished. Let's move out to the lounge area, there, my requite will end" Velkan said and began moving away from the Major.

"Bring the girl!!" He said before disappearing into a corner.

_Our main plan is no more and yet he acts like nothing has happened. _The Major thought before reporting to the team two to go to the basement floor and await there. He then grabbed Meryl and placed her over his shoulder and headed towards the lounge area. _I need to keep a close eye on him…_

* * *

"Naomi!!" Mei Ling shouted as he saw the doctor. She ran towards her and saw the wound she had suffered when they had parted ways. "Are you okay?" Mei Ling asked seeing the tired look in Naomi's eyes.

"I'm fine, thank you" Naomi replied seeing Johnny with his head down.

"I think Rose is a bit shaken up sir" Mei Ling said to the Colonel as he saw him looking at her.

Rose remained almost perfectly still near the small desk.

"What happened to her?" The Colonel asked.

"She killed one of the enemy soldiers with Meryl's gun." Mei Ling replied.

_My gun! _The Colonel thought. "I see. What about Meryl, where exactly is she?"

"We left her!" Rose said taking her eyes from the ground and looking at the Colonel. "We left her to die!"

"That's not true!" Mei Ling intervened. "She told us to escape and then that man, he…he hurt her"

_Velkan! That basta… _The Colonel's chain of thought was interrupted by Johnny's voice.

"Listen, I don't mean to break the party but we really should get of here, that Colonel Velkan is crazy and I don't what to be here in case he decides to blow this whole building up with us in it!" Silence set in after Johnny's words, all the heads turned to him and everyone had a puzzled look on their faces.

"What the hell do you mean by blowing this building up!" the Colonel got closer to Johnny, with threatening eyes.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

The man before Snake was holding a weird shaped gun, Snake tried to discern what type it was but he was clueless. "Let me guess, Black Phantom!" Snake replied and at the same time thought of a way out. He still had the M4 on his back but to reach for it would be impossible without Phantom knowing, the only thing left was his knife, but what were the odds it would penetrate the hazmat suit or make any damage at all.

"Indeed Solid Snake! I am Black Phantom" Phantom took a few steps towards Snake "Tiger will be happy that I caught you" Phantom lifted his right arm and Snake noticed a small keypad and screen just over his wrist.

_If he calls for backup I'm dead!! _Snake then realized that if it hadn't been for the small desk lamp he wouldn't have seen Black Phantom at all. _That's it!! _Snake grabbed his knife from under his back as quietly but as rapidly as possible. Phantom was about to push a few keys on his small keypad when Snake made his move. He quickly threw the knife at the small desk lamp. It flew from the top of the desk and fell to the ground shattering the light bulb and sending the entire room into darkness.

"What!!" Suddenly Phantom heard something rustling. "Damn it!" He cursed and then felt someone near him to the right. He pulled the trigger on his gun. The gun was a state of the art electroshock gun. It shot a small projectile with four prongs that would attach itself to any kind of material. After that the gun would send an electrical charge through the air, like small lightnings. Phantom noticed that he had hit just the wall, but fortunately the light from the miniature lightning made it possible for him to see Snake to his left reaching for the gun on his back. He turned rapidly and fired another shot before Snake could have a chance to fire. And so it happened, Snake was unable to take the shot. In fact he fumbled backwards after feeling the four prongs hit his chest and feeling the shock afterwards. He tripped on the person that was lying on the floor, let go of the M4 and fell to the ground right next to the small computer where the small lamp stood. The grunts of pain while the shock ran through his body sent a warning to Phantom. _Maybe I can take him down…alone. Revenge Violet _

However a few seconds later any sound coming from Snake stopped, the room was once again silence and dark, the light that originated from the corridor only lit up a small portion of the doorway, making it impossible for Phantom to know exactly where Snake was.

_Damn those shocks!! _Snake felt around and noticed the computer bench; he grabbed it and got to his feet. Inadvertedly Snake pressed something that caused several small lights around the wall, close to the floor to light up and he also heard a distinct mechanical noise, like something was revolving. Snake immediately saw Phantom and he saw him. Before he could fire Snake ducked behind the computer and saw where the weird mechanic sound was coming from. It was something behind him; he turned and saw a memory, something from his past. _That machine!! Ocelot! _

It was exactly like the revolving bed where he had been strapped to and tortured by Revolver Ocelot numerous years ago. A shirtless man was strapped on to the bed with blood coming out from his mouth and ears.

"Even though we both like electricity Ocelot's use of it is unsettling. That's his handiwork Solid Snake; both were interrogated, tortured and eventually died. I'm sure you don't want to have the same fate as them!" Phantom said taking a few steps closer to the computer bench.

"I already experienced the treatment. I think today I'll pass." Snake looked away from the machine and noticed that the other man was also shirtless and there was a blood pool next to his head.

"Who were they?" Snake asked taking a peek to see if he could find a way out before Phantom saw him and shocked him.

"They belonged to the United Nations" Phantom replied, tilting his head to see if he could make the shot, for he had just seen Snake's left knee peeking out of behind protection. "Don't you know who they are?" Phantom didn't shoot so he took another step closer.

"No, should I?" Snake asked when he caught a glimpse of his M4 lying on the floor behind a sturdy iron box, just a few feet away.

"Well, these men and several others who are already dead were the men Dr. Emmerich should have met when he landed."

"What!!" Snake was puzzled. He had never actually thought how Violet had been able to trick Otacon, but now it was being explained.

"Surprised are you? After we found them, Ocelot interrogated the men, but somehow he ended up killing them without getting any useful information and so Tiger came up with a plan."

"I get it." _That's the disappearance that Robinson was talking about…_Snake replied knowing from Phantom's voice that he was getting closer. "He sent Violet to trick Otacon, that's clever" Snake knew his opportunity was close.

"Yes, yes it was. But I guess you're saying that because you were smarter, because you killed her!!" Phantom got closer by taking another step forwards and saw Snake leaving the protection behind the computer bench.

Snake rolled on the ground and grabbed his M4, he quickly got on one knee and one leg and took aim, if it hadn't been for Phantom's reaction, Snake would've killed him, but Phantom was fast and shocked Snake. Snake felt his muscles spasm out of control but not before he could fire a shot. Even though it missed any vital parts it hit Phantom's suit, near the right leg to be more precise. Snake dropped his M4 again and felt his entire body shaking. "AHHH!!" He screamed after realizing that the shock was stronger than the ones before.

"You bastard!! Phantom was not letting go of the trigger of his electroshock gun. "You shot my catheter!!"

Snake was feeling less and less awake. "AHHHHH!!" The pain was now reaching his head. A scorching pain took over his face and then everything stopped.

* * *

The commotion didn't interrupt Ocelot from taking pride in him and what he was about to accomplish. _The first stage of my plan is almost at an end, after this I'll have a new beginning, but I need to be certain, it may take a while. _Ocelot was on top of watchtower looking at the uproar below. It wasn't until Black Ronin left the main building that he was sure that whatever Tiger had on his hands was an extremely dangerous situation._ He must be giving them some trouble! _Ocelot smiled and then turned to the soldier that was to his side. "Get every man that's not under Tiger immediate command and get them ready, my speech will begin soon!" Ocelot said and immediately the man climbed down the stairs of the watchtower. _Tiger, you actually thought that you controlled this army, but you are in control of nothing. _"HAHA!!"Ocelot couldn't stop himself from laughing.

* * *

It was only under a few feet of water that Otacon realize he had his glasses on and that he noticed they were starting to fly off his face. He grabbed them and placed them inside a small pocket of his pants.

Raiden was now heading inside the tunnel. It was mainly dark inside, a faint yellow light could be seen in the distance and there was also a large twirling noise. The cross towards the light was not perilous but the underwater shaft was still long and with the water pushing them back the route wasn't easy. _Crap!! _Raiden thought when he saw the orange light getting closer and noticing that there was something up ahead. _Grates! _He noticed as he got closer. The tunnel opened up into a large cube shaped swimming pool but it was blocked by several grates, heavy machinery could be spotted above. Raiden then noticed that in the bottom of the cube shaped room was a large circular grate with something behind, Raiden guess it had to be some kind of propeller because it was making a revolving noise and it was probably what caused the water to push them back. Raiden swam up even more and noticed that he couldn't reach for air. The space between the grates was too small _NO! _He immediately turned around and saw Otacon reachingthe large room filled with water, several bubbles were coming out of his mouth and he looked extremely anxious. He quickly got beside Raiden and following Raiden's lead they pushed the grates up. Otacon was now feeling severely scared, he was with almost no air left in his lungs, so going back now seemed the best choice. With the water pushing them they could reach the garden very fast and think up of a plan. Otacon pointed to the back and Raiden saw it. Otacon saw Raiden's headed shaking up and down and saw it as a yes.

Otacon turned around and began swimming back. Raiden was about to follow him when the twirling noise stopped suddenly. Raiden then noticed that the water level was descending. Otacon turned around and saw it too. Both swam up and took a small breath of air before realizing that the water had stopped coming down. The revolving noise started again, but this time the propeller was going in the opposite direction because Raiden and Otacon were now being dragged down.

_Whaaa…_Otacon could feel that he had no more air left in his lungs, he took his hands to his mouth and looked at Raiden.

The panic was obvious to him, Otacon would drown soon, and going back was now out of the question because the current was just too strong. _Hold on Otacon! Just hold on! _Raiden struggled upwards and pushed the grates up, but they didn't budge. Raiden glanced at Otacon and saw his hands uncovering his mouth and several bubbles coming from it.

_He's out of air!! _Raiden swam down to him and grabbed his shoulder; Otacon got a hold of Raiden's left arm and squeezed tight.

Raiden could see the look of fright in his eyes. Just few seconds later he saw the same eyes close. Otacon opened up his mouth in the hopes of breathing some air, but only water filled his lungs.

_Otacon!! _Raiden opened his mouth underwater and screamed. The grip of Otacon's hand on his left arm was easing up. Otacon was being dragged further down, Raiden tried to pull him up but he couldn't. _Please Otacon don't die!! _Raiden didn't even thought that in a few seconds he too would be out of breath, all that was on his mind was that Otacon was dying in front of him. Raiden felt Otacon's hand letting go of him and saw is inanimate body going towards the large circular grate on the bottom

_NOOOO!! _Raiden shouted underwater, but no one heard him.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Johnny's words had left the Colonel on edge. "Well, what do you mean by that?" The Colonel asked again.

The hostility towards Johnny was obvious. "Just back off for a second okay, I'll tell you all about it" Johnny raised his hands. "I don't know everything, but I was told that this operation has been in the works for about seven or eight months"

"Seven or eight months!" The Colonel said. "That's just after what happened at Washington D.C."

"You know about that?" Johnny asked curiously.

"Go on" Campbell said with a commanding tone stopping Johnny's curiosity immediately.

"Well, I overheard the Major talking to Velkan a month ago, saying they had received the plans of this place. The Major wanted to disclose the plan with the upper echelons but the Colonel stopped him, I have no idea why. Add to that the fact that even after the Major came up with a detailed plan to invade this place that would result to minimal causalities Velkan dismissed it, the situation seemed rather odd. Colonel Velkan came up with a plan of his own. He would arrive in a brand new Black Hawk model and land on the roof. Three teams, two would climb up the elevator shafts and hold the floor while another team took out the basement security and placed demo charges"

"Wait stop! Why didn't you invade this place sooner, you said you had received the plans a month ago?" Campbell interrupted Johnny with a very pertinent question.

Johnny grunted. "Beats me"

_It doesn't make sense. _Campbell thought as he looked around. Mei ling, Rose and Naomi were looking at Johnny attentively. _All this work, all the trouble we went through to create a more secure Philanthropy and look where it got us. _Campbell swallowed dry, his frustration would have to wait, something more important had to be dealt with first. "These demo charges, tell me more about them"

"We were all trained with them, in case we had to disarm them, they are simple but very powerful. Team three's mission was to place four of these charges around the structure of the building and then retreat back. Once all the personnel was out team three would take them to an undisclosed location and handle interrogation, as for team one and two we had to secure the floor for Velkan. Now I know what he wanted." Although Campbell couldn't see Johnny's eyes it was more than obvious he was talking about him.

Campbell sighed.

"That's all I know. I shouldn't even have come with team one, I was a backup, I really don't like fighting" Johnny moved away from Campbell, he saw a plastic chair on the ground and picked it up, he slowly sat on it. "Jeez, getting shot in the ass is the worst luck ever"

Everyone disregarded Johnny's last remark and concentrated more about what he had said before. Mei ling was the first one to break the silence. "What now Colonel?" She asked getting closer to Campbell. "We have to leave, right?"

"It's the only way" Naomi pointed out.

"No!" Campbell said raising his head and looking first at Mei Ling and then at Naomi. "We're not leaving yet, we're not giving up" _It won't be easy but I have to ask them to do it._ Campbell got ready to pour out his plan, a plan that could bring back Philanthropy to their control.

* * *

"I woke a few soldiers from their tents to help me, but I found nothing so far" Marsh replied while looking inside a tent filled with beds. Two soldiers were by his side each with a flashlight pointing inside.

"Very well, keep looking" Marsh heard Tiger reply and signed off on the VOXER.

"Let's go, he's not here!" Marsh ordered and left the tent and straight away saw a man descending the stars of the watchtower. "Ocelot! What were you doing?" Marsh asked.

As soon as both feet of Ocelot reached the ground he spoke. "I don't have to tell you anything about what I'm doing" Ocelot turned around and looked into Marsh's eyes. "But if you must know, I was trying to locate the intruder"

"That's…" Marsh was about to thank for the help when Ocelot ignored him.

"I don't need your sympathy. Just make sure you find him" He said raising his right hand.

Marsh turned around and saw Ocelot's back. "He killed Violet!" Marsh snapped at him.

"Trust me when I tell you that he'll kill more if you can't find him" Ocelot stopped walking, but didn't turn around.

"There's only one person I trust and it's not you!" Marsh replied.

"Ah, yes the man who saved you" Ocelot turned his head and saw Marsh's look of defiance. "Perhaps you're seeking something instead of someone. Am I right, Ronin?"

"What do you mean by that!?" Marsh took a step closer to Ocelot.

"Nothing, forget about it" Ocelot replied and moved away. _No need for confrontation, I made my point. _He walked calmly towards the main building as Marsh kept wondering what Ocelot had meant by his last remark.

_Could he know!? _

"Sir, do we continue the search?" A solider behind Marsh asked.

"Yes, we do" Marsh replied ignoring everything else.

* * *

Raiden saw himself holding a beautiful woman in his arms; Raiden could feel her soft hair as the wind rustled it up and down. _Rose! _But the wind was getting stronger and soon it was so powerful that Raiden couldn't hold onto Rose anymore, he felt being pulled away and suddenly found himself surrounded by water. _No!! I almost lost consciousness! _Raiden had only closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them he could see bubbles coming from his mouth, he almost had no air left in his lungs. Otacon was in the bottom of the water filled room, with his lungs probably filled with water. _Damn!! There must be way out! _Raiden took a second look at the grates above. Most of them seemed to have something on top of them, but he noticed that one by the corner seemed free of anything. He swam to it, but not before glancing another time at Otacon. _Please don't die Otacon, not now, not after all this! _Once he reached it he confirmed that there was nothing on top, Raiden was now struggling the heavy current that pulled him to the bottom, it seemed to be getting stronger or maybe it was Raiden who was getting weaker. Raiden began to push the grate up and saw it budge a little. _Yes that's it, move!! _He pushed it again and it budged a little more. _C'mon!! _Suddenly Raiden opened his mouth, he had no more air left, he swallowed a bit of water and realized he had just one more try. _No! I have to do it! I have to get out of here! Rose, my child! I want to get to know my child! I want to… _Raiden closed his eyes and gathered all the strength he could, he got ready and with both arms pushed the grate up as hard as he could. Raiden suddenly heard the noise of the grate moving and opened his eyes. He had done it, he pushed it aside enough so he could fit and rapidly took his head out of the water. It took a while to get breathing again, because he had a bit of water in his lungs, but after the ordeal it was bearable. He coughed a bit and got the water out of the lungs, after that he 

took a deep breath of fresh air. He looked around. The place looked like a plastic tent that housed all the equipment for the water treatment, a bright light was hanging from the tent's roof.

_Otacon!! _Raiden dived immediately and swam towards Otacon, who was still on the bottom. Raiden grabbed him under his arms, but pulling him and fighting the adverse current wasn't easy. Raiden then thought of something, he took a better hold of Otacon and placed his feet on the ground near the grate that housed the propeller behind it. He would jump up and hopefully get to the opening. Once his feet were on the ground he felt like he had stepped on something crunchy. He ignored it, looked up and thrust himself towards the opening. _I got it!! _Raiden used his right arm and got a hold of the opening, he pushed Otacon outside and he was next. Raiden could hear the machine rustle quietly as he laid Otacon belly up flat on the floor and with his head titled back. The machinery didn't allow for a lot of space so Raiden was just over him with his legs on the side of his body. _Otacon! _"Otacon!!" Raiden slapped him and shouted as he got ready to begin Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. He was about to place the palms of his hands over his chest when he heard a faint grunt. "Otacon! Wake up Otacon!" Raiden was about to slap him again when he saw him spitting out water, he quickly turned his head to the side and saw as he was brought back to consciousness. Raiden smiled. "Otacon its okay, you're alright"

After Otacon felt all the water come out of his lungs he was able to breathe more easily. He turned his head and saw someone over him, someone familiar, but with his glasses seeing was harder. "Raiden!?" He asked reaching for his pocket, but his glasses weren't there.

"Yeah, it's me. You gave me quite a scare there!" Raiden said.

"My glasses, where are they?" Otacon asked.

"Ohh, wait a second." Raiden disappeared right in front of Otacon's eyes and a second late he was back.

"Here!" Raiden handed something to Otacon. "I'm sorry, they must have fallen from your pocket and I stepped on them!"

Otacon placed his glasses on his head and saw that he could see perfectly from his left eye but not from his right one. He felt the glasses with his hands and noticed that he right lens was shattered. "Well, that's better than nothing, thanks for saving me. By the way did you…you…you know?" Otacon asked while he got to his feet.

"Did I what?" Raiden asked.

"You know, mouth to mouth" Otacon had a strange look in his eyes.

"No" Raiden chuckled. "You came to all by yourself"

"Good!" Otacon sighed and afterwards jerked his glasses up his nose. "Because if you did and Snake knew he would give me hell about it…" Otacon smiled. "Let's go!" Otacon headed towards a small step up a few feet away that led to the exit of the tent.

Raiden would follow but something on the back of his mind had kept him wondering. _My child, can I actually pass on the things I want to my child…after what I've been through, the way I am… I don't know. Lately I've been acting so stupidly, why!?_

"Hey you coming or what, we need to find Snake!" Otacon said noticing Raiden was standing still over the grates.

"Right!" Raiden cleared his head and followed Otacon outside. It was dark, but noise could be heard distantly, it sounded like people shouting.

"That has to be Snake's handiwork" Otacon said. "Let's get inside the hangar then I'll call him"

"What if he is in trouble right now?" Raiden asked.

"No, if he was he would call" Otacon replied. "He was the bad habit of calling people up in the middle of a battle!"

"So what now?" Raiden asked looking around the area. The side and back of the main building was in front of them, to the side was the back of the massive hanger. The space between the hangar and the main building was enough for two people to go through, but the commotion near the area in front of the hangar was a sure way to get caught. The other side was no better, the hangar was close to the fortress wall but there was enough room for them to use, however they would reach the front of the hangar and be caught fast, after all they were unarmed.

"Otacon, did you hear me?" Raiden asked as he saw Otacon looking up and down the backside of the hangar. He got close to it and knocked on the metal that the hangar was made of.

"Hard stuff!" Otacon sighed. "Hey what about that?" To the side of the back part of the hangar there was something that looked like a grilled vent cover.

"So we're going inside a vent!" Raiden said. "Typical!"

"No wait! It's not a vent. Come take a look" Otacon shook his hand and Raiden joined him as he looked through the grilled cover and saw something a just a few feet away, a stretch of light.

"What?" Raiden asked a bit puzzled.

"It's a room! If you look closely you can see the outline of a door"

"Let's pull it then!" Raiden took his hands to the vent cover and placed his finger over the grills, Otacon followed suit and they pulled. It felt really stuck to the wall, but a few seconds later they felt it budge from the metal surrounding it.

"Almost there!" Otacon said through his grinding teeth.

Otacon almost fell backwards when the cover came off, Raiden immediately let it go and it fell to the sandy ground.

"I'll go first" Raiden said and prepared to enter the room that was in almost total darkness.

After Raiden climbed inside Otacon heard a noise, like something had fallen. "Raiden, is everything alright!?" Otacon asked.

"Yeah, just a sec…you're not going to believe this." Raiden said.

"What?" Otacon was curious so he decided to climb into the room. After a bit of gymnastics he finally got inside, but he saw nothing. "Raiden!"

"I'm here" He whispered, he was right in front of Otacon near the door. "What did you find?"

"I think…" Suddenly Otacon heard a faint noise of something turning and then the door opened up a bit, the light coming from what looked like a tight corridor crept inside the room they were in. Otacon immediately discerned a bed to his left, and what looked like a metal desk to his right. Right in front of him was Raiden holding something.

"…it's my gear" Raiden said. "That guy must have brought it here"

"What guy?" Otacon asked getting closer to Raiden.

"We should find Snake" Raiden said while he placed his equipment back to his rightful place. He strapped both his sword and his M4 on his back and the SOCOM to his chest.

"Alright…look!" Otacon had spotted something blocking the light of the corridor outside for second. Raiden closed the door a little bit and waited.

"Someone's coming!" Otacon said.

Raiden risked a peek and saw that someone was indeed in the corridor but it wasn't coming, it was going. "He's moving away. I've seen him before!" Raiden said opening the door a bit more so that Otacon could see.

"That hazmat suit, it's Dr. Ed Brown" Otacon pointed out. "He must be…he just disappeared into the left."

"We make our move then!" Raiden quickly got out of the room with his SOCOM at the ready. He could see a door closed to the left just inches away and one opened about seven feet away. It seemed that Dr. Brown had entered another door, a bit further away to the left. _Three doors!_

As Otacon reached the first opened door he looked inside, the light on the ceiling was extremely bright and he saw clearly a small room with a very big computer station inside. There were three big screens on top of the computer station and behind it was a large glass. On the other side, of the glass everything was dark. To the right side of the room was a large white cupboard. "Raiden!" Otacon wasn't calling him, he was seeing him as he noticed that there was a small very low quality screen to the left of the computer station that showed the cramped corridor, and he could see Raiden distantly.

"What?" Raiden whispered.

"There's a camera…" Otacon got out of the room. "Right there." He pointed towards a door at the end of the corridor. A small camera was on top of it.

While Otacon pointed at the camera, Raiden and he noticed a flash of blue coming from the place that Dr. Brown had gone into. _What the hell! _Raiden thought as he took a step closer.

"What are you doing?" Otacon asked stopping him.

"I'm going to check it out!" He replied.

"We should wai…" Before Otacon could finish they both heard a scream, a voice they knew perfectly well.

"Snake!!" They said at the same time.

They immediately rushed across the corridor and saw a door wide open, Raiden was the first to look inside and was puzzled by the scene. There was a corpse a few feet from the entrance on the ground and further away was something Raiden recognized immediately. It was the same weird bed he had been strapped to two years ago. The man with the hazmat suit was about halfway inside the room to the left holding a small gun that was shooting what looked like small lightning bolts directed at someone's chest area. _Snake!! _Raiden saw the agony in Snake's expression and moved closer to Phantom, with the butt of his gun ready he struck him.

* * *

"Well!?" Tiger asked a soldier that was running towards him.

"Nothing yet sir!!" He stopped right in front of Tiger and saluted.

"Very well, carry on!" Tiger said and immediately the soldier moved away.

_Where could he be? _Tiger saw before him the several men pacing around the area in front of the hangar, but so far they hadn't found any kind of intruder. "Marsh!" Tiger reached for his VOXER.

"Yes, Tiger!"

"Did you find something where you are?"

"I woke a few soldiers from their tents to help me, but I found nothing so far"

_We should have found him by now! _Tiger thought before replying. "Very well, keep looking." Before disconnecting the VOXER, Tiger tried to contact Phantom, but there was no response. _What? Phantom is not answering. _Tiger directed his eyes towards the small side door on the hangar, it was closed. _I wonder! _About fifteen minutes had gone 

by since Phantom's last contact; Tiger began to walk toward the hangar side door. There was something on his mind, a dire premonition that he had to appease.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

"We can take Philanthropy back, but it will be dangerous" Campbell said and at once saw the doubts in Mei Ling's and Naomi's eyes. "We have to split up"

"Wait a second, I'm not going anywhere" Johnny spoke from his chair. "I got shot…in the ass!"

"So did Naomi and she's standing right here" Campbell pointed at Naomi. "Look…" Campbell sighed. "…I know you're not under my command and I heard you when you said you don't like fighting, but I need you to help us" Campbell stared at Johnny and waited for his reaction.

He moaned before standing up on the chair. "What is it you want me to do?"

"Naomi" Campbell turned to her and looked her in the eyes. "Since Snake rescued you I felt that you feel obligated to stay here and help us, at first I thought that was right, but now…I can't ask anything from you, not to help us and certainly not to stay here. You have done enough"

Naomi almost smiled. "Colonel…I'll help in any way I can…but… but you're right I don't belong here, but I won't leave until this is over"

"I thought you'd say that" Campbell replied. "I want you to go down to the basement and defuse the charges" Campbell said calmly to Johnny, who didn't react right away.

"…" It seemed that Johnny was thinking about what to do. He turned his head to Naomi and saw her face, it was like she was silently asking him to do it. "Alright, I do it"

"I'll go with him." Naomi said.

"Are you sure?" Campbell asked.

Naomi nodded, her resolve was strong.

"Very well, get going then"

"What about us Colonel?" Mei Ling jumped into the conversation wondering what Campbell had reserved for her.

"I want you to go to the server room and see if you can get any communication to the outside, the FBI, NSA or the United Nations. Anything that might help us" Campbell pointed to the desk a few feet away. "There's a laptop there, maybe you can use that as the terminal" Mei Ling looked at Campbell and saw how serious he really was.

"We often take your services for granted Mei Ling, and I frequently treat you like you're just another analyst, but you're not. The SSCEN doesn't know how lucky it is for having you, you're the one that stayed behind with the rest of us. I'm glad to have you by my side"

Mei Ling couldn't hide a smile, never had she been so praised for her work. "I'll try" She bobbed her head up and down and her face was slightly blushed. "If any of the server machines is in working condition I think I can whip something up"

"Good"

"What about Rose!?" Mei Ling asked glancing at her who was standing still looking at the ground.

"I'll talk to her, you two should go" Campbell spoke to Johnny and Naomi. "I'll contact you through one of these radios…" Campbell crouched down and took one of the unconscious soldiers radio.

"What about you?" Naomi asked Campbell while Johnny headed towards the open elevator.

"I have to find Meryl and…Velkan." Campbell replied. "Go!" He jerked his head for Naomi to go. Soon after the elevator doors closed and although no one knew it then, they would not see Naomi for a very long time.

* * *

Snake dropped to his knees and saw Phantom on the ground apparently unconscious, a yellow fluid was all around his right leg coming from a small bullet hole on his hazmat suit.

_What happened!! _Snake asked himself and when he looked to the right of Phantom he saw the answer.

He saw Raiden with his blond hair all wet, it seemed he had struck Phantom with the butt of his SOCOM and was now looking straight at Snake. To his side was also a very wet Otacon, his clothes seemed drenched in water and his hair was all over his forehead. It also seemed that one of the glasses lens was shattered. It was now the first time he was seeing Otacon alive and for the most part, he looked well. "Otacon!!" Snake could feel his body still trembling as he got up.

Raiden got closer to Phantom on the ground and checked if he was indeed unconscious. After confirming it he picked up the electroshock gun, it was rectangular in shape and had a small knob that regulated the strength of the electric discharge.

"Snake!" Otacon said while Snake got to his feet. Snake then picked up his M4 from the ground and looked at both Otacon and Raiden.

"It's good to see you guys! But what happened, you're all wet"

"We had a bit of trouble getting here" Raiden replied packing his SOCOM.

"Yeah" Otacon scratched his head and then noticed something. "Snake, where's Susanne?"

Snake didn't reply immediately. _He doesn't know! _Snake sighed and got a firm grip on his M4 before replying. "She's dead, got killed by one of her own"

"What!!" Otacon's reaction was expected. "But…but she couldn't be one of theirs…could she?"

"You see this guy" Snake pointed to the man strapped to the torture device. "He was UN, he was the one that should have met you, not Violet. That's the kidnapping that Robinson was talking about when we met him. If we had been warned, things might have been different" Snake got closer to Otacon and saw him looking at him confused. He placed a hand over his shoulder. "I'm sorry"

"She acted so kindly, she even…I thought there was something between me and her" Otacon was speaking slowly and almost in a whisper.

"So, that's how they found out where Robinson and we were" Raiden pointed out. "We've been setup all along."

Otacon heard Raiden's words and quickly remembered that after he told Susanne they had found Robinson she had gone to the bathroom, was that a ploy to give Robinson's location to the Black Army. _No, how could she…_

"Yeah, they got us good" Snake said, taking his hand from Otacon's shoulder.

"How did you find her then?" Otacon asked.

"She came to me actually, after it got dark I found her wandering through the desert, most likely she was sent by the leader to see if she could find me. If I was alive I had to be close to the train tracks and that narrowed it down for her, if this wasn't busted…" Snake took something out if his equipment. "…I would have known who she was right away, instead I had to improvise." Snake threw the nanofinder to Otacon.

Otacon looked at it and saw that it was partially opened.

"I couldn't confirm her death, so that's also an issue."

"An issue!" Otacon snapped at Snake. "This is a human life we're talking about!"

"It's our mission, mine and Raiden's!" Snake replied sensing something stir up inside Otacon.

"This is mindless murder, we're just following orders because…" Otacon was suddenly interrupted by Snake.

"No!! We're not just following orders. We're doing what's necessary to protect the people we care about. You were tricked Otacon, by a very smart woman, a woman you cared about and it will probably happen again, so you have to get used to it. Violet didn't deserve to die the way she did, but the mission couldn't end with her alive"

"So you're saying you don't care…"

"No, because if we do, if me and Raiden care about who we kill we won't be able to complete the mission. I'm not without emotion Otacon, I just can't use it on the battlefield" Snake and Raiden waited for Otacon's reaction.

"I…I just don't know what you expect from me, I'm not and never will be like you"

"Good, I don't want you to change, but you do need to understand" Snake sighed and then changed the subject. "I think it's time you told me about Liquid and Metal Gear"

* * *

Tiger was slowly getting to the hangar side door, the minutes had gone by and Phantom still hadn't reported in on the machine's progress. Once he opened the hangar side door he rapidly saw something was wrong. In the end of the corridor he was now looking at was an opened door. _My room door…I closed it! _He turned around and called two nearby soldiers to come to him. "Stay close behind me, if you see anyone besides Phantom, shoot" The soldiers nodded and got behind Tiger with their guns ready to fire. The first door on the right was wide open and Tiger soon saw the extent of Ocelot's handiwork that had happened earlier in the day. A body was sprawled across the floor and another one was still strapped to Ocelot's torture machine.

Tiger walked inside slowly, looking left and right, but there was none else there. However something on the ground caught Tiger's attention, a yellow fluid that from the smell he recognized as urine. _What's this doing here…no…Phantom. _Tiger whipped around and rushed past the two soldiers standing by the doorway, he ran towards the next door and promptly saw what was going on through the small window on the door.

* * *

After a brief explanation about what Otacon and Raiden knew about Metal Gear and Liquid respectively, Snake asked a decisive question. "So the Metal Gear is inside this hangar. Anyway to disable or destroy it?" Altough Snake wanted to know a way to destroy yet another Metal Gear something on the back of his mind was more important. _Liquid is still alive. _The spirit of the man that had forever changed his life was still breathing and he was in this place. It all sounded too convenient, but Snake knew that if Liquid was here, he had something big up his sleeve.

"The project leader was him" Otacon pointed at Phantom, who was still unconscious. "But I can find more, there's a computer station in the other room."

"We should move there" Raiden said.

Snake nodded and with a little help from Raiden they quickly got to the computer station room, although small they all fit inside. Otacon had Snake's nanofinder still in his hand so he placed it in his pocket and got close to the computer station.

"We're lucky this place is deserted!" Otacon said, otherwise it would've been close to impossible to get this close."

Snake saw what had condemned him to fall into Phantom's hands, the moment he went inside the hangar Phantom saw him through a small camera that was placed just over the entrance. _A surveillance camera, I hate those things! _

"As I told you Snake, they brought me here to decrypt some files, at first I did some amateur hacking just to show them I was trying. I hacked into their files and saw a Metal Gear progress report, Black Phantom was the person in charge of the design"

"We need to wake him up then" Snake said as he looked to the side, they had placed Phantom on the only chair that was in the room.

"There's more to it, after Raiden and I got free and before we left I actually decrypted what they wanted me to decrypt because the files shared a similar encryption to something I found in Washington D.C."

"And you found what?" Raiden asked.

"I found financial reports of organizations, a report on the use of nanomachines and more importantly the personal files of five people, the Black Unit. I only got a good look at Dr. Ed Brown's file, but there's something there that might change his mind about his allegiance to the Black Uni…"

"Shh!!" Snake whispered. "Look!"

The black and white low resolution monitor was showing two men inside the hangar, by the doorway of the first room. Because of all the talking they didn't even heard them getting inside.

"Damn, we're trapped here! We should move." Snake said as he got a hold of M4, Raiden did the same thing, but Otacon held them back as he saw someone rushing past the two men. "Him!" Snake said.

"He's coming here!" Raiden got ready to fire.

"Hold on!" Otacon said and pushed a large button that was located beside the computer station room door. The door shut itself immediately and it seemed to seal itself hermetically.

Suddenly the man they had all seen before was in front of them just outside the door.

"I sealed us in!" Otacon said but Snake and Raiden had their guns pointed at the small window on the door. On the other side was Black Tiger.

_Solid Snake!! I got you now! _


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

"Rose!" Campbell got close to a very disturbed and shaken up Rose. He placed both his hands on her arms and grabbed them tightly. She looked at him. "It's okay!"

Rose shook her head left and right. "No….no…it's not okay….I…I shot…I didn't know what…"

"Rose! Do you want to see Raiden ever again? Or your child?"

Rose immediately focused her eyes on Campbell's.

"What you did was something terrible, but it was needed. You're not a bad person because you killed someone. You killed to save not only your life but Mei Ling's too"

"I'm…I'm not a soldier…I can't…" Rose looked away from Campbell again.

"Yes, you're not a soldier, but you need to help us, to help me, Mei Ling and Meryl. I want you to go with Mei Ling. I want you to take this" Campbell let go of Rose's arms and grabbed the HKG36K that was strapped around him. "Here, your job is to protect Mei Ling, don't let anyone stop her. I know you can do this" Campbell presented Rose with the gun but she flinched.

"I can't!" She replied a little more coherently. "I'm sorry, but I can't, you do it!!"

"You have to. I'm going to get my…my niece." Campbell replied and again saw Rose focusing her eyes on his. "She's alive, I know it and Velkan's probably is too, that Major most likely went to look for him" Campbell sighed. "The plan won't work without you Rose" He said pushing the HKG36K forwards for Rose to take. "If you can set up a way to communicate with the outside, maybe you can reach Otacon" Campbell was doing everything he could to try and convince Rose, he knew that the server room was near elevator two and there were probably enemy soldiers posted there. Little did he know that the soldiers were not there anymore but somewhere else.

Rose took a deep breath and took a hold of the weapon. It felt heavy so she used both her hands to pick it up.

"It's ready to fire" Campbell said. "Mei?" He turned to Mei Ling." You two be careful, Campbell handed Mei a small radio and grabbed the other unconscious soldier machine gun and radio. "Good luck!" He said and walked away as fast as he could.

Mei Ling raised her hand and was about to shout 'stop' at Campbell, but something told her that it was pointless. Whatever doubts she had about what to do they would have to disappear, she had only one final assignment. "Rose" She walked towards her. "Let's go"

Rose was still looking at the machine gun, wondering if she would be bold enough to use it, to kill again. "Lets" She nodded still unsure.

A few rooms away Campbell was heading towards the general direction from where the noise from before came. _Meryl, I know you're still alive… _Campbell then did something that he felt he had to do, he got a hold of the enemy's radio and opened up a frequency, any would do. "Velkan, if you can hear me, I'm coming for you. My niece better be alive otherwise…well, you know the rest!" Campbell began to walk fast, his old age didn't matter anymore, he had to stop Velkan and get Meryl back.

* * *

"Place her there!" Velkan pointed at the small lounge chair that was turned to a very big window. They had arrived at the lounge area.

The Major threw Meryl to the chair without any regard for her wound. "Sir, shouldn't we head to the elevator and…"

"No" Velkan said stomping the ground with his cane. "I'm the one in charge here or have you forgotten about that!!"

"I'm sorry sir. It's just that we've lost many men and now the evacuation plan…"

The Major was interrupted again. "Once Campbell is dead we'll move out, no one will get away Major. I just need to see it end. Call the men bringing Campbell here. I want to know what's taking so long"

The Major sighed and grabbed his radio, but before he could make any call he received one, in an unsecure frequency.

"Velkan, if you can hear me, I'm coming for you. My niece better be alive otherwise…well, you know the rest!" The radio shut off and the Major opened his eyes wide behind his protective ask and stared at Velkan.

Meryl began to regain her consciousness, she was sure that she had just heard her uncle's familiar voice. She opened up her eyes slowly and saw where she was. She was sitting in an awkward position on the lounge chair facing the window and she could see two figures. _Velkan and a soldier._ She thought and quickly closed her eyes, before anyone noticed her, she kept her ears opened. _I have to wait for an opportunity._

Velkan's face was emotionless after hearing Campbell's courageous statement. The Major was quick and tried to call someone on the secure frequencies but there was no answer, the men of team one were either dead or unable to respond. _How could that happen, how could Campbell get away. _"Sir we need to move immediately. If he got away…"

"Calm down Major!" Velkan replied coolly. "Nothing is going to happen that we haven't foreseen. Everything is on schedule…there are at least two men in the basement that are ready to deal with any situation. No one is leaving this place alive anymore" Velkan answered and smiled afterwards. "Campbell has ended the lives of everyone here!!" Velkan smiled. _I'm waiting Campbell…_

* * *

"Solid Snake!!" Tiger was shouting, he knew the window was thick so he had to raise his voice for the sound to go through. "I do have to say, you all surprised me. I didn't think you'd get this far, not by a long shot"

"I'm full of surprises." Snake replied also raising his voice. His voice sounded completely muffled inside the room he was in.

"And how did Dr. Emmerich and he get away?" Tiger asked not really wanting an answer. He silently and without making sudden moves reached for his VOXER. He turned it on and spoke quietly. "Marsh if you can hear me head to the main building, recreation room and get to the computer. Once there call me"

A few seconds later Marsh replied. "Alright, but what's going on?"

Tiger didn't answer Marsh.

Snake and Raiden had just saw Tiger move his lips talking to someone but they couldn't hear what he was saying.

"Otacon, is there any way out of here?"

"I'm looking" Otacon began pushing the keys of the keyboard on the computer station.

"I think you should know Solid Snake. The Black Unit had nothing to do with those explosions all those months ago" Tiger raised his voice again. "This entire mission is pointless, we are not and never were the enemy"

Snake narrowed his eyes. The way that Tiger spoke seemed truthful. "…"

"You don't believe me? You should, because I'm telling the truth. The Patriots set us up, I'm sure of it" Tiger then heard Marsh on his VOXER.

"I'm here and you're not going to believe it. The two got away and the soldiers are unconscious on the ground"

"Get by the computer, get ready for…something" Tiger replied lowering the tone of his voice.

"Otacon, he's up to something" Raiden said as he noticed that again Tiger spoke but they heard nothing.

"I don't like this, if we're trapped with no way out, I'm going to kill you Otacon" Snake said realizing that they might just have to surrender.

"Oh, no!!" Otacon said turning and looking at Snake. "We're definitely in trouble, the room as no air supply of any kind. We may be out of air soon"

* * *

Phantom opened his eyes and felt a pain on the top of his head. He could see that he was inside his work room. Through a hazed vision he discerned that something suddenly happened. The door to his work room closed abruptly and after his blurred vision got clearer he saw exactly what was happening. Dr. Emmerich was by his computer station pushing keys on his keyboard. Solid Snake and another man were facing the door where Phantom saw, through the window, Black Tiger. As their eyes met, Phantom saw Tiger moving his eyes to his left side, Phantom's right. He was trying to tell Phantom something, Phantom looked right, and the only thing there was the computer station. _What does he…oh I understand!! Very well. _Phantom gave a slight nod at Tiger and waited for the moment to arrive. It took a while but after Dr. Emmerich discovered that the room had no air supply Phantom saw his chance. Dr. Emmerich had turned away from the keyboard and Phantom advanced, he knew by heart what keys to push. His reaction was swift. He jumped from his seat and got in front of the keyboard. His hands, although gloved were very fast, too fast for Snake or Raiden to stop before the harm was done. Raiden was the first to pull him back. Phantom was thrown into the large cabinet opposite the computer station and Raiden got a pretty good hold on him. "What did you do?" He asked placing his elbow on what he guessed to be Phantom's throat.

"Otacon?" Snake said while Otacon took a hold of the keyboard and saw what Phantom had done.

"It's done…Tiger!!" Phantom said struggling with Raiden.

"Very good work Phantom" Tiger shouted from the other side of the door. "I…I'm sorry for…"

"There's nothing to be sorry about Tiger, I…"

"Shut up!!" Raiden pushed his elbow further down Phantom's suit until he finally felt that he had reached his throat.

"Otacon, what did he do?

"Damn, something regarding Metal Gear, but I can't see what it is, because there's nothing here to see" Otacon said between pushes of keys.

"What?"

"There's nothing here about Metal Gear, but I swear I saw something before."

"HA..ah…" Phantom seemed to be trying to laugh but Raiden's force was too much and it ended up sounding like he was coughing.

"Let him go Raiden" Snake said and Raiden took out his elbow from Phantom's throat. The suit was all wrinkled around the neck area.

"What did you do?" Snake asked seriously.

"Humph...Metal Gear is out my control now, only one computer can activate Metal Gear now and it's not this one anymore" Phantom was smiling. "And I've also relinquished the hangar locks, so we're locked inside"

"What does that…"

"Snake, I'm in full control of this hangar and the room you're inside. That room was specifically designed for Phantom, it's the only room where we can take all the oxygen out and let Phantom take out his suit, there's an oxygen tank there, but it won't hold for 

long and certainly not for four people. Phantom will probably still be alive because his suit has an air supply, but you, you'll be dead" Tiger grinned. "You can all surrender, but I won't keep you as prisoners"

"Bastard!" Snake said. _It's our own fault. We got ourselves into this room. _

"I spoke the truth Snake, when I said the Black Unit had nothing to do with those explosions, but I guess that doesn't matter to you" Tiger grunted. "You're more like Salil than you think."

"You're talking about Liquid?" Snake said. "He's betraying you! That's what he does. Now he controls Ocelot…"

"What!!" Tiger now smiled. "I think the lack of air is getting to you Snake"

_Damn it, I can't reason with him. _Snake thought before Tiger spoke again.

"Phantom, you did more than I could ask of you, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get you out befo…"

Phantom raised his hand. "There's no need for it Tiger, I did my part. I'm happy to be a part of this family"

"Then this is goodbye my friend!!" Tiger said. "Good luck!" With those last words Tiger sped off and disappeared from the window.

"Happy!!" Otacon turned and faced Phantom. Phantom's last words made Otacon remember the significant discovery he had made when he went through Dr. Ed Brown's personal file in the recreation room of the main building. "Dr. Brown, you don't know the truth do you? About the accident that killed you two children"

"What are talking about?" Phantom's expression changed.

"It was no accident!" Otacon said calmly as he looked at Phantom's fiery eyes. "It was Tiger, he killed them!!"


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

"What!! What did you just say!!" Phantom could feel is temper rising, how daring was Dr. Emmerich that he talked that way about his dead children and the man who had saved him. "How dare you!! Don't you ever speak of my family again!!" Phantom said raising his voice.

"I'm telling you the truth, I didn't even realize until now…because if you had you'd have stopped that man" Otacon pointed to the small window on the door where Tiger had been just a moment ago.

_The files! I was too busy with Metal Gear…what did he found!! _"What exactly do you think you discovered!?" Phantom took a step forward towards Otacon.

Snake saw Raiden reaching for his gun but he shook his head in disapproval of his action and Raiden stopped immediately.

_Otacon knows something important. _Snake thought as he heard Otacon give his explanation.

"Those files, I found a lot of stuff, but what got my attention were the personal files of the Black Unit. I opened yours and searched through it…"

Otacon tried to discern Phantom's reaction, but he couldn't tell if he was accepting what Otacon was telling as the truth or an attempt to get Phantom by their side.

"Anyway…I found pictures of the accident where your two children lost their lives, and there was large underlined note saying that Tiger's mission to recruit had been successful after the elimination of …of your children…" Otacon swallowed dry not looking away from Phantom's piercing eyes through the hazmat clear visor.

"You're lying!" Phantom replied. "If that's the best you can do, I have to say you're literally wasting your breath. Even if you cracked the files, my personal information after the accident is classified. There's no way it's there, no way" Phantom said sure of himself. _Those files were Ocelot's! Why would he need our personal files, it makes no sense, but Tiger's suspicion…_

"I'm telling you the truth, if you don't believe me check the files on your own!" Otacon said, but Phantom looked at him with disdain. "I can't, not now. My portable computer is busted and as I've said that computer is no longer connected to the inner network, but you knew that already didn't you" Phantom paused for a second. "No more attempts Dr. Emmerich, you better prepare yourself to die in a few minutes, the air is about to get stale"

Snake and Raiden who had been quiet for the last minute or so now saw it as way to think of something out of the box to get out of the predicament they got themselves into.

"Alright that's enough Otacon, he doesn't care. Sit down!!" Snake said at Phantom. "We need to figure out a way out of here."

Phantom sat down on the chair and thought about what Otacon had said. It couldn't be the truth, because if it was it was too painful to think about. _Marc…Anna!!_

* * *

Tiger was slowly walking towards the hangar exit when he heard a voice on his VOXER. "Tiger, this is Marsh again, now that I have Metal Gear and the hangar control what do I do?"

"Just hang tight, I'll be there in a minute or two, did you call the transport truck again?"

"Yes, they'll be here in one hour." Marsh responded.

"Get to the roof and see if the Iroquois is ready"

"Very well Tiger. Marsh out." Once the conversation ended, Tiger focused his eyes again on the hangar exit. _After all the troubles we had, we're still on schedule. The _

_Patriots…they'll see what I'm capable of…_ "C'mon we're leaving." Tiger ordered the two soldiers that had come inside the hangar with him.

* * *

"How about that glass?" Raiden said and pointed to the glass just over the computer monitors.

"They're bullet proof" Phantom said.

Suddenly Snake coughed, the air was getting thinner and the entire room was slightly hotter due to the carbon dioxide. "There as to be a way?"

"Nothing!!" For the past few seconds Otacon tried with no luck to get something to work on the computer. "There has to be a failsafe, but I can't find it?" Otacon said.

"Can't you hack…something!?" Snake asked.

"I don't know the system, so it could take hours!" Otacon pointed out.

"We don't have hours!!" Raiden replied.

Phantom started laughing. "You better starting thinking who's going to be the one to use the oxygen tank, because soon you'll all…"

"Listen Phantom, I don't know about what you've been through and frankly I don't care, but you're going to die here too, I'll kill you myself before I die, so you better get ready"

"My body died long ago Snake, my burns are leaving proof of it, I'm nothing more than a shadow of what I was, a Phantom of my previous life" Phantom replied.

"The burns!!" Otacon said and then faced Phantom. "I saw the burns in the files, the reason why the unit is called the Black Unit."

Phantom now opened his eyes wide. _What!! Could he know! _

"What the hell are you on about Otacon?" Snake asked perplexed.

"There were very grim photos of how his body was after the fire. He has a very large burn on his chest that looks like an ambigram"

The word ambigram made Snake remember of Black Garand and Black Violet. _The tattoo… _He thought to himself.

"An ambigram that spells out 'BLACK'." Otacon said making Phantom jump from the chair and staring at Otacon, there was no way he could've known that. After Tiger had recruited him, the only other member was Garand, and it was Garand's idea to use Phantom's burn mark as a symbol that tied them all together. The burn wasn't a perfect ambigram of course, it was very crude, but the three of them worked on it. Tiger, Garand and whoever joined the Unit next would have the same fate as Phantom. They would have their body marked forever. Phantom never thought he would ever found a new family, but the Black Unit turned out to be it. "There's no way you can know that by your own!!" Phantom replied upon hearing the stunning revelation, the doubts began to disappear and now he wanted to know more. "Tiger, did he really kill my children?" After all they had been through as a unit, as a family, everything was crumbling.

Otacon nodded.

_My god! The only way for him to know about my burn mark…Tiger, is that why you always act so different around me. Apologetic and sympathetic…did you kill them…my beautiful daughter and son… _Phantom didn't react for a second, but then he began to cry. "How could he!!" He turned around so that no one could see his face and cried more.

Raiden who had been quiet through the whole thing now felt some empathy with Phantom, he too had a child and he couldn't even contemplate how much it would hurt if his child died or was killed.

Snake was also struck by how different Phantom was from the others of the Unit. His cry was of genuine pain, even after all these years after his children died.

Phantom was sobbing, but decided to face all three again. "You need to stop him. Stop Tiger and his plan"

"First, get us out of here." Snake said.

* * *

Tiger ordered one of the soldiers that left the hangar with him to get everyone back to their positions as the other stayed behind to guard the hangar. "I'll back in a few minutes." Tiger said before leaving the hangar exit door and heading towards the main building.

Someone was by the main building entrance, just standing around with his arms crossed, Ocelot had his overcoat tied up practically to the top; Tiger had never seen him like this.

"Ocelot, the plan is in motion; we're entering the final stage"

"What about Snake?" Ocelot's tone was curious.

"He's trapped inside the hangar, with his two partners. They are in Phantom's room, without air, they'll lose conscious in about fifteen minutes" Tiger now smiled. "I won't let him die. I want to have the pleasure of killing him myself"

"There's no way out?" Ocelot asked uncrossing his arms.

"There's a manual opening mechanism but it's on the outside, Phantom was able to relinquish the control of the hangar to me, I'm going to use the computer in the recreation room as the base of operations. It's time to awake the beast"

Ocelot grinned. "Very well" He said with his rough and dragged out voice.

"Ocelot..." Tiger stared at Ocelot's eyes and for a second he had a vision, something he only had in his dreams was now occurring to him wide awake, he had never looked so attentively at Ocelot's eyes for so long. It felt to Tiger like there was something hiding behind his eyes.

"What is it?" Ocelot asked and immediately Tiger blinked and looked away.

"Nothing, it's nothing. See you in a few minutes" Tiger entered the main building.

Ocelot stood still watching as he got inside. _Tiger! My dear apprentice…I noticed those piercing eyes. But you have no idea what I am. _Ocelot then turned away from the entrance and looked at the many men a few feet ahead of them. "It's time!" He said out loud. "You!" Ocelot pointed to the first soldier he saw. "Get the men together near the main gate, we don't have much time. I'll be there in a minute, I have something to do first" Ocelot said and right away the soldier began to circle around the tents. Ocelot began to walk away from the area, his plan was about to unfold.

Once Tiger reached the recreation room he saw that like most of the main building it was deserted. _Everything is ready! _He got close to the computer that was on the room and sat comfortably on the chair. Everything was under his control, the hangar door locks, and most importantly Metal Gear. "Marsh?" Tiger reached for the VOXER. "Is everything ready?"

"The Iroquois is almost ready" Marsh replied.

"Good. The men also seem ready. I'll run the system checks on Metal Gear and then deal with Solid Snake."

"And then?" Marsh asked.

"Yes, then once the truck arrives we'll move out" Tiger replied with a slight grin on his face.

* * *

Phantom sighed. "There's no way to leave, I'm afraid." He said looking at Snake.

"Then we can't really stop Tiger now can we?" Snake replied.

"Tiger is not going to let you die, not you" Phantom said.

"Why?" Otacon asked.

"Because you killed his mentor, Salil, you know him as Liquid Snake" Phantom said taking a seat on the chair again. "Although Tiger has been lying to me all these years, I do know that he wants to kill you for what you did. Now that he has you trapped here, he won't let you die"

"Liquid's not dead, not really anyway" Snake said.

"What do you mean?" Phantom asked.

"He took over Ocelot!" Raiden jumped in.

"What…took over?" Phantom was a bit perplexed.

"Ocelot lost an arm in Shadow Moses and replaced it with Liquid's" Snake replied seeing the odd expression in Phantom's face. "Don't ask me how he did it. I just know that he's not dead."

"He's living on through an arm!!" Phantom said at a loss.

Raiden nodded and so did Otacon, but Snake changed the subject. "What's Tiger waiting for then, for us to stop breathing?"

"Exactly!" Phantom said ignoring what he had just heard about Liquid Snake. "We have air for about ten minutes, maybe more. After that we'll lose consciousness, but I do have a plan, after he has taken you I can think of a way to free you and then we'll be able to stop him."

"We?" Snake said.

"Yes, I can't do it alone, he's too good, but with you"

"What about Raiden and Otacon?" Snake asked already guessing the answer.

"They'll probably die before you."Phantom replied coolly and saw Otacon blinking his eyes very fast.

"Unacceptable" Snake said. "We have to think of something else"

"No!" Raiden stepped in. "You should do it. You need to complete the mission"

Snake looked at Raiden and saw his serious face. Snake was about to say yes to the plan when from the corner of the eye he saw a shadow through the door's small window and the next thing they knew the door was opening up. The air from the outside corridor flooded the room dropping the temperature and giving them the opportunity to breathe deeply. Snake got his SOCOM ready and carefully moved outside. Once he peeked out he could only see that someone had ran out of the hangar through the door. Snake only saw what looked like a brown overcoat before the door closed.

"Someone opened the door from the outside" Phantom said and straight away Snake noticed that imbedded into the wall was a small handle that had been pulled down.

_Was it you? Liquid!! _

"I guess the plan is different now, right?" Otacon said jerking his glasses.

Snake turned and saw Raiden, Otacon and Phantom looking at him, as if waiting for him to say something.

"Right!" Snake said firmly. "We need a plan!?"

"Well, the outside should be crawling with soldiers…" Raiden pointed out. "…and we're only three!"

Snake looked at him, knowing full well that they had no chance to get out and stay alive for long.

"Alright, first things first. The mission is going on hold…" Snake turned to Phantom. "…where's Metal Gear?"

Phantom narrowed his eyes and moved out into the corridor, just there" He pointed to the next door, just a few feet away from Tiger's private room. "That's the bulk of the hangar, Metal Gear's is inside."

"Let's move!" Snake said and got close to the door, a button on the side opened it up. The dark room was suddenly lit up and everyone could see it.

_Metal Gear!_

* * *

Tiger was now doing the last few things that Phantom had been unable to do. The final checks on Metal Gear were going by easy. Everything had been prepared by Phantom to the smallest detail. _Almost there. _

"Tiger, this is Marsh, something weird is going on! All the soldiers and jeeps have been moved near the main gate. Did you do it?"

Tiger was about to answer the radio when a flashing window on the computer screen alerted him to something more worrying. "What!? Phantom's door was opened, but how!?" _How can this be, Phantom locked them inside, if he's free…Metal Gear can't be jeopardized. _

"Marsh, get on the Iroquois and get over the hangar, I'll open the roof!!" Tiger said into the VOXER.

"But, the soldiers Tiger!! I think they're leaving"

_Solid Snake, you won't stop me, not me, not now! _Tiger was not even listening to what Marsh was saying. "Do what I say Marsh, now!!" He shouted. "We need Metal Gear intact!!"

"Alright Tiger! Just give me a minute!" Marsh replied and right away Tiger got to his feet, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. _This can't be happening!_ Was his plan in trouble again? Little did he know that outside a revolution was starting.

* * *

The soldiers had been gathering near the main gate, jeeps and everything else were ready to leave, when Ocelot arrived near the troops he headed towards the main gate and there he raised both his arms. Everyone became quiet.

"My comrades!" He spoke with a normal tone of voice. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the way that you've been treated for the last few years"

There's was small talk going on between the soldiers.

Ocelot dropped his arms. "You've been treated like common soldiers, referred to as the Black Army and yet you have nothing to show for. I am here to change all that, I came to this country very long ago and with the help of your forefathers I erected this fortress. Had I known that it would be the hiding place of the people that want to rule over you with no care for your safety I would never have done it. This was to be a base of operations for soldiers made by soldiers and now this Black Unit wants to take you from your country and do battle for something so trivial as their petty revenge!" He took a step towards a soldier. "You're more than just an instrument of war! You are war itself, and if you want to be free you won't fight for them, you'll fight for yourself!" The troops were now nodding to each other, words of disapproval towards the Black Unit and praise for Ocelot. _I got them! _Ocelot raised his right arm and made a fist. "I have a place for you! A place where the soldier is more important than anything else, you'll you join me?"

The roar of the soldiers was like a thunderous yes. _Then it begins! _Ocelot was looking left and right at the faces of the soldiers, Liquid was laughing, everything was coming together.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

The main area of the hangar was indeed enormous, the area was filled with crates and mechanical parts were all around the massive iron structure that held Metal Gear in place. It reminded Snake of the first time he saw Metal Gear Rex, it too was standing with a metal structure that had been built around it. This Metal Gear, however, was not nearly as big as Metal Gear Rex or any Metal Gear that Snake had even seen before for that matter.

Most of it was obstructed by the iron structure, but even so Snake was a bit surprised. "That's it?" Snake asked looking at the Metal Gear;

"Yes" Phantom replied as he stepped inside the hangar.

Otacon sighed. "I saw the blueprints on your files…"

Phantom turned around, and looked puzzled at Otacon.

"I hacked into them, but it doesn't look like the blueprints…"

"No, it's doesn't. I had to build it with other parts and pieces, only the legs are fully complete"

"And…" Otacon now glanced and Snake and he immediately noticed. Otacon still hadn't disclosed something else apart from Metal Gear that he had seen on Phantom's files, something dangerous. "…what about the nuclear weapon!!

Raiden and Snake looked at Phantom waiting for his response.

"It's already installed!" Phantom replied.

"What! That thing is armed with a nuclear weapon!?" Snake asked a bit alarmed.

"I'm afraid so and there's no way…." Before Phantom could finish his explanation a roaring sound echoed through the hangar, sending Raiden and Snake into full alert. They drew out their guns but the sound hadn't come from any enemy, the top part of the hangar was opening up.

"What's going on!?" Raiden asked as pointing his gun upwards.

"Tiger must be advancing his plan!! He wants to transport Metal Gear out of here!" Phantom said raising his voice, the noise of the roof opening up was like a high screech.

"Transport!!" Snake replied.

"Yes!!"

"What exactly is Tiger's plan?" Snake got closer to Phantom and asked, he needed to know exactly who he was dealing with.

"He plans to invade the United States!" Phantom replied and both Otacon and Raiden raised their eyebrows.

"How does he plan to accomplish such thing?" Otacon asked.

"We used to work for the Patriots, we have ways to get to the U.S. undetected, Tiger's plan was to take the Black Army there, all the supplies and weapons we have. He even got a hold of a Comanche to protect Metal Gear. You see…" Phantom turned around and looked at the Metal Gear hiding through the iron structure. "…this is unlike other Metal Gears you've have ever seen. I was conducting my research in robotics and advanced A.I. for the Patriots, I was the one who changed the model of the Metal Gear Ray to include a powerful laser weapons system and a state of the art battle artificial intelligence…"

Snake, Raiden and Otacon immediately remembered the weird Metal Gear Ray that they fought in Washington D.C. That had to be what Phantom was talking about.

"…but this was to be something different, more compact, lighter and a lot smarter. But after the carrier, my work was stopped. I brought what I had already accomplished here and hoped that I could finish the work" Phantom sighed. "There are a lot of things 

that the Patriots have of my research, but some things I kept hidden from them. The DRS is one of them and…" Phantom placed one of his gloved hands over his heart.

"DRS!?" Snake asked.

"Diamond Reflection System, it's a…"

Snake grunted. "I know what it is." He replied. "We fought one of your Metal Gears about eight months ago."

Phantom turned around. "That was you!! You're the ones that invaded the underground facility in D.C.?"

Raiden nodded.

Phantom now seemed to be admiring Snake, Raiden and even Otacon. "You really are something else."

"About this Metal Gear, you're telling me it's controlled by an A.I."

"No, not this one!" Phantom focused again on detailing the Metal Gear just a few feet away. "Since my work was incomplete, Tiger asked me to build something else. A more powerful remote controlled version."

"So, that means Tiger is controlling it!" Otacon said. "That's what you did to your computer in your room, right?"

Phantom nodded with regret in his mind.

"Never mind about that" Snake said. "The nuclear bomb, can we disarm it"

"Well, yes, but it's complicated…"

Suddenly, a recurring sound seemed to be approaching the roof of the hangar now fully opened. The Iroquois helicopter came into view.

"We don't have much time!!" Phantom said out loud as the noise coming from the helicopter rotors increased. "To get to the bomb one has to physically enter Metal Gear!!"

From beneath the helicopter a large frame was dropping and a second later it seemed to attach to the Metal gear itself.

"I think we have a bigger problem…" Raiden said as he saw the helicopter lifting, shaking the entire iron structure that enveloped Metal Gear.

"Damn!!" Snake looked at everyone around him, the mission had suddenly changed. It was no longer just a simple mission of target elimination. A Metal Gear was involved and worse so was a nuclear device. "Alright, we need to stop Metal Gear before anything else. Is there any way to prevent that helicopter from leaving?"

Phantom was looking up and saw someone peeking from the window of the helicopter. _Marsh! _

"Phantom did you hear me?" Snake placed a hand on Phantom's shoulder.

"I…"

"Some way to shoot down the helicopter…"

"Snake, look!" Raiden was now pointing at what the helicopter was lifting up from the ground.

Everyone could now see the Metal Gear on its own. Like Phantom had said, it was unlike anything they had ever seen. The most differentiating aspect was the fact that it had three legs instead of two. The legs all had a very organic feel to it. The entire Metal Gear was grey with some patches of black. Like Phantom had pointed out, the upper structure was very different from the legs. The upper body, shaped like a triangle, looked like several layers placed on top of each other, like the armor of a tank. A large cannon was placed on the right side and a minugun on the left. On the left, above the minigun was something that looked like a radome, but what was weird was that on the upper right there was an even bigger one. The head sat in the middle, it was similar to the Metal Gear Ray's head but a lot smaller, to the top right was something that shot out 

of his back, almost looked like a wing. As the helicopter began to take the Metal Gear up in the air the back was also visible, this looked the most mechanical part of the Metal Gear, a large rectangular shaped back with thick cables coming from it. It even looked like it could fit a person inside. Snake noticed a missile launcher module, which seemed familiar.

_Stinger missiles! _"Those Stingers!! Do you have some left? We can use them to shoot the helicopter down" Snake diverted his eyes form the Metal Gear that was rising up above, soon he would clear the roof and who knew where it would go.

Phantom didn't reply immediately. "Marsh is inside…he's…"

"He's one of you isn't he?" Raiden asked, wondering why Phantom was hesitating.

"Yes, but he's not blame for what Tiger did"

"Listen to me!" Snake looked into Phantom's eyes and didn't speak until he looked back. "You have to decide here and now what you want do. You can go back to them as Black Phantom or you can help us as Ed Brown! It's your call, but if you go back to them, I can assure that when I find you again I'll kill you!" Snake said and waited for his reply. Otacon and Raiden did the same thing. This was the moment where everything would be decided. If Phantom stayed with them, they would have a better chance to stop the helicopter and disarm the bomb, if not it wouldn't be different from any other situation they had been before.

* * *

It took a few minutes for Marsh to get the helicopter in the air, but after he did he flew right over to the hangar, the roof was wide open expecting him. "This is Marsh, I can see the roof opening!!" Marsh spoke into his microphone that was placed on his headset. Once he hovered over the opening, he glanced down through the window. Four persons were standing next to the hangar entrance. _Phantom!! _Tiger thought as he noticed one of them had to be Phantom, the hazmat suit was unmistakable.

"Tiger, Phantom is with them..."

"That doesn't make sense, he couldn't have opened the door, even if he wanted too..." Tiger replied.

"What do I do now?" Marsh asked.

"Get Metal Gear, we're going to move it to safety" Tiger ordered and Marsh immediately began the procedure to lift Metal Gear. He flicked a switch that sent a large frame that had been attached to the bottom of the helicopter downwards. The magnets linked up with each other and a green light warned Marsh that Metal Gear was in place. "I've got it!!" He said and began to lift the frame up.

"Good, keep an eye on Phantom, try to figure out what he's doing?" Tiger said through the headphones and right away Marsh looked out of the helicopter window. He saw Phantom looking up, no doubt he was looking at him and the next thing he saw was Phantom pointing towards some crates near a corner of the hangar room. The Metal Gear was almost at the position where Marsh could fly the helicopter away, but it seemed that Phantom and the others on the ground had a different fate for Marsh.

* * *

_I'm sorry Marsh!!_ "There!" Phantom pointed to the side, near a corner were several crates were piled up on each other. "I fitted the Metal Gear with Stinger missiles, there should be two missiles and a launcher left"

Snake and Raiden ran to the place Phantom pointed out. It wasn't hard for Snake to find what they wanted. "Here!" He said to Raiden and he got next to him. There were two large boxes, one carried a missile and another box carried the launcher with a missile already installed.

"We don't have much time!" Otacon said as a noise echoed across the hangar. The Metal Gear was in place and the helicopter began to fly away.

"Crap!" Snake cursed as he grabbed the launcher and saw Raiden grab the extra missile. He had a 'just in case' expression on his face. Snake readied to fire, but it was too late, the helicopter had cleared the opening, there was nothing there, but a dark sky. "We're too late!!" He said looking at Phantom and Otacon. "We need to move outside."

"But the place is crawling with enemy soldiers!" Otacon pointed out.

"Raiden, take point and clear a path, we need to get that chopper down!!" The mission was now, definitely on hold, all their efforts were in stopping Metal Gear. "We need to disarm that nuclear device."

"I'm going to!" Phantom said while Snake and Raiden got close to the exit. "You'll need my help to deactivate it"

Snake nodded and left the hangar. Raiden was already outside in the corridor heading towards the door. _I need to focus, I need to clear a path. _Raiden got a good hold of his M4, and got ready to open the door, once he heard Snake's footsteps getting closer behind him he threw the door opened and moved outside.

It was a strange sight to behold as the place was practically deserted apart from the body of a soldier beside the hangar exit door. There was no commotion anymore, no noise, not even a whisper. The massive wide gate was opened up and a lonely empty jeep stood by its side.

"What the..." Raiden said perplexed. Then he turned his head towards the sky and saw the helicopter, it was now flying over them and it seemed to be going towards the desert beyond the gate. "Clear!! Raiden shouted and saw Snake running out of the hangar, with the stinger missile launcher over his shoulder. "Right there Snake!" Raiden pointed at the sky.

Snake got on one knee and saw through the electronic scope the helicopter, he aimed carefully at the rotor tail, at that height it would definitely cause the helicopter to fall.

"Stay back!" Raiden lifted up his arm keeping Phantom and Otacon from exiting the hangar completely.

_C'mon...got it!! _Snake pushed the button and the missile shot out of the launcher with incredible speed.

* * *

"Phantom betrayed us Tiger, you hear me? He betrayed us!!" Marsh shouted into the microphone as he saw the intruders grabbing a stinger missile launcher, Phantom had told them where it was by his own free will.

"What? That can't be right!!" Tiger sounded exactly like he felt, confused.

"He just told them how to shoot me down!! He's working for them now!!"

Tiger didn't respond until a second later. "Get away from there, fly towards the train yard, I'll meet you there."

Marsh had cleared the roof, but he kept a watchful eye on the exit door of the hangar. The four had come out of the hangar, and no one was there to stop them. "I'm not sure I'll be able to, they followed me outside, and the grounds are empty!! There are no soldiers around, what the hell is going on Tiger!!" There was silence on the other side. "Tiger...what is going on? Where is everybody!!" Then the silence changed sides, Tiger heard what sounded like an explosion and shouted into his radio.

"Marsh! Marsh!! MARSH!!"

* * *

The missile hit the tail rotor and sent the Iroquois spinning out of control. It swerved to the left of the gate towards the area in front of the main building. Marsh had lost its headphones and was now trying to get the control of the vehicle back. From the corner 

of his eye he saw what looked like another helicopter flying away. _The Comanche!! _The thought disappeared from his head as the Iroquois crashed into the watchtower, Tiger felt the controls escape from his control and the entire cockpit was shaken up and down and then tilted to the side. Marsh felt some blood on his left arm. A bit of the helicopter frame had been split apart and scratched his arm. The cockpit was on its left side. Marsh looked up and saw the right cockpit door. He unbuckled the safety belt and climbed to the door. Once out he could see exactly what had transpired. The tail was several feet away, cut about halfway. The Metal Gear was in front of where he was. It was standing and from the looks of it didn't look that bad. The rest of the helicopter was on its side, inoperable. He got out fairly quickly and without being seen by the ones that had shot him down. Outside and on the ground he turned on his VOXER.

"Tiger, are you there?" Marsh spoke through long deep breaths.

"You're still alive..." Tiger sighed. "What happened, I was on my way out"

"Don't!! They got the helicopter..."

* * *

After the sound of the explosion, Tiger couldn't just stand there and wait, he dashed out of the recreation room, and ran down the stairs to the first floor and there he saw that there were still some men inside the main building. "You, come with me!!" The soldiers had probably been in their quarters until the large explosion woken them up. Tiger was leading them out when he heard his VOXER ringing.

"Tiger, are you there?" Marsh was out of breath.

"You're still alive..." Tiger sighed. "What happened, I was on my way out."

"Don't!! They got the helicopter..."

Tiger was baffled, how could an entire well thought out plan failed so miserably. How could Phantom betray him like that? Marsh had told him that the soldiers were not in the grounds anymore, which meant that something or someone had encouraged them to leave. _Who could have done this…who's against me? _Then it came to him, all the doubts and dreams. _Is it Ocelot, but is cause is ours. He was always so adamant about my plan. He worked hard to get the final piece for us and the Comanche!! But…my dreams..._ "Come inside Marsh, this is not over yet!" Tiger said and contacted Ocelot. It was time for the doubts to end.

"Yes?" Ocelot replied, a slight humming noise could be heard on the background.

"Ocelot where are you and why have my men have cleared the grounds!!" Tiger asked hastily and as forcefully as he could.

"Your men!! They are not your men, they are mine!!" Ocelot replied calmly. "They are going to a better place! As for me, I'm waiting for the right time…but don't worry, if you're lucky you'll see me before you die"

Tiger had his eyes wide open, the truth was out. His dreams of distrust were correct, he had always felt a bit guilty for getting Phantom to break into Ocelot's files, but now even though it was too late it seemed he had been right to do so. "You did this, you ruined my plan!!" Tiger said raising his voice, the soldiers around gave him inquisitive looks."

"You did this to yourself. Your plan was destined to failure even before you contemplated it. This is my time, my plan!!"

"Ocelot why??"

"Don't call me Ocelot!!" After the reply there was silence on the radio. Marsh entered through the main building door and saw about half a dozen soldiers looking at Tiger.

"Tiger?" Marsh walked towards him and saw a weird look in his eyes.

"You!!" Tiger shouted and turned to the soldiers. "Get outside and kill anyone you see, even if he's friendly!!" Tiger raised his voice beyond anything that Marsh or any other soldier head ever heard. "NOW!!" He screamed and the soldiers bolted.

"Tiger, what is going on!! Please talk to me?" Marsh got closer to Tiger even raising his arm to comfort him.

_Salil!! _Tiger closed his eyes._ I won't let him get away, first Solid Snake and then I'll kill Ocelot!! _Tiger opened his eyes and before Marsh could place his hand over him he spoke. "Marsh, come with me, we'll stop them once and for all" Tiger said and turned towards the stairs.

* * *

Snake looked away from the scope as soon as he fired; a second later he saw the missile hit the tail rotor sending the Iroquois spinning. It moved towards the watchtower, suddenly in mid air the tail broke off and the helicopter fell towards the watchtower. The roaring sound of the crash, Snake guessed would be heard from miles away. The Metal Gear seemed to be beside the crashed helicopter cabin but with all the dust it was hard to see.

"You did it!!" Raiden said.

"Let's not cry victory yet!" Snake replied and then noticed that there were no soldiers around, only a dead body just outside the door. _What the hell happened here?_

"What happened to the men?" Phantom asked as he got out of the hangar. "This place is deserted!"

"Maybe, they decide to move!" Snake said. "Raiden, see if that jeep works!" He pointed to a jeep a large opened gate. "Now we need to disarm that bomb!" Snake faced Phantom.

Phantom nodded. "Yes, we should hurry!"

_After that's done, we have to continue the mission. I'll…I'll have to kill him. _Snake began to move towards the jeep followed by Phantom and Otacon. Raiden had gone up ahead running and reached the jeep. It seemed to be in perfect condition. He got into the driver's seat and turned the key. _It works! _Raiden put it in gear and drove towards the others.

As the jeep stopped right beside them, Snake got into the passenger's seat and both Otacon and Phantom stood on the rear, not very comfortably because of the mounted machine gun. "Go!" Snake said and off they went.

The crash site was some feet away and it didn't take long for everyone on the jeep to see about half a dozen soldiers leaving the main building. "I guess a few of them stayed behind!!" Raiden said as the wind rustled his hair around.

"We need to take care of them, Otacon change places with me. I'll get on the gun!" Snake switched seats with Otacon and got ready to fire the mounted machine gun. Phantom looked at the soldiers and couldn't avoid feeling pity for them. These men had served the Black Unit with honor and now he was betraying them. _No, Tiger betrayed me!! _

Suddenly Raiden stopped, the enemy soldiers stopped moving, and everything just halted as a very loud noise, like a machine starting up resonated through the entire place. A large stripe of flaring red light was visible through the dust that had been lifted because of the helicopter crash and then the earth shook slightly and more dust was thrown into the air. Snake knew what was happening. He had heard it before, the roaring sound of evil machines. _Metal Gear!_

The Metal Gear had in fact been activated and was moving, a loud feedback was heard before a voice replaced it. _"You killed my master Solid Snake! You and he ruined _

_my plan! Now this Metal Gear Black will be your undoing!!"_ The voice was of Black Tiger.

"Great!! Now what!? Phantom what can we do?" Snake asked and saw Phantom giving him a funny look.

"Nothing…there's nothing we can do…deactivating the bomb now is close to impossible…"


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

The private area that surrounded Philanthropy's ground floor was deserted. The elevator arrived at the base of the large building and after the doors opened up, Johnny and Naomi finally arrived at their destination. The basement was an open area with several lights spread around; the outside world was just feet away. The ground was made of hard concrete and there were several cars parked around. The large and thick as tree trunks pillars that supported the building were spread out. Several yards away at the opposite end of where Johnny and Naomi were, stood the other elevator door. There was a slight breeze running as the afternoon set in. "Alright, we're here" Naomi said the obvious as they left the elevator, now it was up to the reluctant Johnny to find and defuse the charges.

"Well, I don't know exactly where they are, we have to find them!" He said seeing Naomi's expression. "Hey it's not my fault, I didn't plant them!!" Johnny replied. "They should be placed at even distances, here let's go this way!!" Johnny took a right towards a corner of the building. It wasn't far until they all saw, outside of the basement area out on the open, what looked like a piece of the helicopter, more precisely the tail, it seemed it had crashed on top of a gigantic cement block. "Look!" Naomi pointed to it.

"I did that!?" Johnny asked surprised. "Wow!!"

Before Johnny and Naomi took another step they both felt something poke against their backs.

"Don't move!!" A voice spoke.

"So you crossed us didn't you!!" Another voice said. "It's a good thing we were here. I wonder what Colonel Velkan has in store for you!"

Johnny didn't have to turn around to know who was talking. It was the man in charge of team two, the voice was unequivocal. They had left their post, guarding the second elevator and had descended to the basement.

"I didn't cross anyone…" before Johnny could finish what he was saying he felt a blow to the back of his head and collapsed to the ground on his knees to the left of Naomi.

"Shut it!!" The commander of team two said through his protection mask. "I have my orders!"

The cocking of both soldiers Heckler Koch announced something terrible was about to transpire.

"You!!" The man behind Naomi said. "Get on your knees! NOW!!" He screamed and right away it felt more real to Naomi. It came over her, like something uncontrollable, an urgent need to cry. The tears began to flow through her face, she had had too much, too much emotion, too much fear of death, too many things happening in such a short time. She wasn't even hearing what the man was saying to her anymore. "I said, get on your knees" The man pushed the gun into Naomi's back.

Naomi was just expecting the bullet to come, the thing that came to her mind was a picture of herself sprawled across the ground with blood coming from her head.

"Right!!" The man behind her placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her down.

"Don't hurt her!!" Johnny said turning his head to the right and seeing Naomi sobbing with the barrel of the HK placed on the back of her head. "She had nothing to do with this!"

"The bitch dies first!!" The commander said and Johnny knew that behind his mask he was smiling. _Twisted bastard! _ Johnny thought, but it was too late.

Johnny didn't stop staring at the barrel hoping that somehow, someway the bullet wouldn't go through Naomi's head. _No!! _

A booming sound reverberated through the length of the basement and shook even the ground.

* * *

Rose and Mei Ling had been walking for about a minute when Rose stopped short. Mei Ling was just a few inches ahead of her and didn't notice right away that she had stopped walking. She was carrying the laptop and a few extra wires she had ripped from the wall and it would take a miracle to get everything working in the server room for them to communicate with the outside world.

They were walking by the corridor near the windows, Mei Ling thought they should avoid the inner corridor and prevent Rose from coming up with a dead body. Rose had stopped near a window that had something under the ledge. It looked like a plastic case; the color seemed a bit different than the rest of the wall. She carefully touched the case and noticed that it lifted up. Underneath it was a small button. _Is this? _ She pressed the button and immediately heard and saw the window shattering, but not breaking. Mei Ling, who was now some feet ahead, stopped and turned around. She saw Rose facing the shattered window. "Rose!" She walked towards her.

Rose then saw something massive rush past the window and a few seconds later heard it collapse on the ground.

"That's the evacuation system Rose!" Mei Ling said right by her side.

_Evacuation system! Then…I could leave now, get my child to safety and leave everything else behind…_

A few moments later a large scaffold arrived and stopped just outside the window.

"Rose, what's going on?"

"We can do this right?" Rose asked not turning her eyes or her head to look at Mei Ling.

Mei Ling didn't reply immediately. _ I don't know…I'm not going to lie to her_ "I'm not sure!" She replied.

Rose smiled. _I can't leave…if there is any chance to talk to Jack then I need to do it. And I'm not going to be a coward anymore. _"Thank you…for the truth" Rose turned to Mei ling. "Let's go!" Rose held the gun in her hands tighter. They resumed their walk towards the server room unaware of what had happened just after they left the elevator area. Near the first elevator, one of the two supposedly unconscious soldiers opened his eyes. He had been awake for a while and had heard someone speaking about going to the server room and then, through, semi closed eyes, he saw one of the women pick up the laptop and ripping several wires from the wall. Once they left, the soldier got to his feet and awoke the other unconscious soldier with a few slaps to the face. "Get up!" He said to the other soldier, who seemed a bit confused. "They got our guns and radios, but I know where they went!" The soldier pointed to the corridor near the side wall.

"What now?" The other asked while massaging his head.

"We go and we get our stuff back, then we call the Major!!" The soldier replied.

"And what about the women?"

The soldier grinned behind his mask. "We kill them!"

* * *

Campbell was starting to feel his muscles sorer. The last hours had taken its toll on his old soldier's body, but he knew that the fight wasn't over. It didn't take long for him to see the corner that led to the lounge area. He leaned against the nearest wall and sighed. _This is it! _He lifted up his gun and checked it one more time, it was ready to fire. _You can do this Campbell!! _He closed his eyes and took one last deep breath. He then 

opened his eyes and advanced to the lounge area, but he only took one step before seeing his gun shoot out of his hands. "Wha…" Then he felt a strong push to the side. It felt the same way as when the Major had pushed him without touching him. Campbell almost fell to the ground. Unharmed he saw the lounge area in its entire splendor. Velkan was right in front of Campbell, blocking out the light that came from the massive window. The Major was to his side picking up the gun. It was him that threw him to the ground, but how did he see him through the wall? Meryl was nowhere to be seen, but since the lounge chairs were not turned to him it was possible she was on one of them.

"Surprised?" Velkan took a few steps toward him. "I told you I could see through anything."

Campbell stood upright and looked at Velkan, straight in the eyes and quickly noticed that blood was coming out from his left one.

"We should kill him now!" The Major said. "And get out of here, team three can be here in thirty minutes!!"

"There's no hurry Major!" Velkan smiled. "This is almost over" He then got closer to Campbell and grabbed his throat.

Campbell raised his hands to keep Velkan from tightening the grip, but Campbell was almost chocking already.

"Come!!" Velkan began to pull Campbell by his neck, his hand was enormous. It almost went around Campbell's entire neck.

Campbell grunted and moaned but he couldn't resist Velkan's strength, his enormous body was too strong. He let go of Campbell when they got near a lounge chair. Meryl was on it with eyes closed. _Is she dead!? _Campbell thought, for Meryl didn't move. The Major stayed where he was, watching the scene unfold, the Colonel's obsession had to end, quickly. _Just kill them and be done with it!_

"She's not dead…" Velkan approached Meryl and took out his faithful SOCOM from under his vast overcoat. "…yet." Velkan then pointed it to Meryl. "How does it feel Campbell!? Tell me how it feels to lose the most precious thing in the world for you!" He turned his head to witness Campbell's reaction.

Campbell had a terrible pain on his neck, but what he was seeing was more painful. His breathing quickened and his heart beat faster. He swallowed dry and looked at Velkan, hatred in his eyes. Campbell was being punished for something that he did many years ago, something that he had been right in doing. Not letting Velkan continue with his squad had been the right decision, however, now he would've done the complete opposite if he knew it would save Meryl. But Campbell's niece had already proven that she didn't need saving, when Campbell saw it, he immediately knew that she had something in the works.


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

The Metal Gear took another step and everyone in the jeep saw how threatening the machine really was. The stripe of red light came from its eyes and the object on the top right, that looked like wing lit itself up. It was filled with bright lamps pointed at the area in front of the vehicle itself. The way the legs bent and moved seemed almost human.

"What the hell do you mean Phantom?" Snake roughed up his voice.

"Metal Gear Black was built for urban warfare, as you can see…" Phantom sighed.

"And!?" Snake almost shouted.

"Snake? I think we should move" Raiden saw the unit coming closer and the soldiers several feet beside it also headed their way, guns at the ready.

"Drive away!" Otacon quickly said as he felt the next step of Metal Gear.

"First, tell me why can't we do anything about the bomb?" Snake looked at Phantom beside him, but Phantom didn't have a chance to respond. A giant explosion like sound came from Metal Gear. It sounded like a tank cannon round.

"!" Snake had his hands on the mounted M240 machine gun, but the blast shook the entire jeep. The round hit just a few feet ahead of the jeep. Raiden pushed on the gas pedal and drove away towards the hangar area. The Metal Gear didn't stop the attack. Bullets from its minigun began to rip holes in the back of the jeep as it drove away.

"This isn't going well" Snake said. "Phantom what were you saying!!" Snake shouted through the noise of bullets wheezing by.

"Tiger made me use the DRS system, but not as a weapon. This Metal Gear was to be used as an attack vehicle on US soil, and it's practically impregnable. In case someone was able to deactivate the nuclear weapon would arm itself, however if someone tries to forcefully disarm the bomb once the unit has been activated they are going to be greeted with several high powered lasers"

Otacon turned to Phantom and asked. "So, you're saying one need to actually enter the Metal Gear to deactivate the bomb"

"Yes"

Raiden now turned the wheel towards the large gate.

"Are you getting away Snake!?" Tiger's voice was clearly audible.

Snake turned his head and saw the Metal Gear getting further and further away. "If we stop the Metal Gear then…"

"Yes, the bomb will go off" Phantom replied and then commit to silence.

Snake gave a dire sigh and thought of a plan, but nothing came to mind.

"Do I just keep driving?" Raiden asked as he cleared the main gate.

Snake and Otacon exchanged looks. The situation and subsequently the entire operation were on the brink of being over. Snake took his hand and rubbed his eyes. _Damn…I can't think! What should I do? _

"There could be a way!" The silence was broken by Phantom's words.

* * *

Tiger sat on the chair in front of the computer and with nothing but rage in his mind he did the final checks on Metal Gear.

"What now?" Marsh asked seeing as Tiger furiously typed on the keyboard.

"Now we do the only thing we can do!" With a final push of a button Tiger stood up and threw his overcoat to the ground, underneath it were his normal clothes and something out of place.

"It's a good thing I kept this on!!" Tiger reached for his large and thick belt, it was made of metal and there was a large button where the belt buckle should be. Once Tiger 

pressed it, a holographic light green display appeared right in front of him. There he could see a 3d rendering of what was going on outside, the grounds were visible and so was a jeep. Tiger raised his hands and began to touch the hologram, first he switched the speaker system on. After a loud feedback sound Tiger spoke. "You killed my master Solid Snake! You and he ruined my plan!" Ocelot came to his mind. _First Snake and then him. _ "Now this Metal Gear Black will be you undoing!!" Tiger switched off the speakers and proceeded into activating the weapons.

"Tiger!" Marsh whispered. _What happened?_

The 3d hologram changed color, it became bright red. Tiger could see options, he quickly chose the small canon and fired. He missed the jeep by a just a few feet. "Damn!" He cursed and placed his right index finger over a circular shape on the tridimensional hologram and moved it up. The view of the grounds moved, he was getting closer to the jeep, but the jeep had also began to move. _They're turning around and running! _Tiger used his left hand and switched the speakers on again. "Are you getting away Snake!?" He shouted and seconds later he saw the jeep getting through the main gate outside. The flick of another holographic button changed the view and the color of the hologram again. With the x-ray vision activated Tiger could see a bright red spot through the fortress wall. _ Just need to get closer! _Tiger continued to move the Metal Gear towards the wall and when the distance was right he fired the canon again.

* * *

"Stop the car Raiden!!" Snake said and got out of the mounted machine gun, he sat on the backseat and asked Phantom. "What way?"

"There's a cooling system for the entire Metal Gear and there's way to trigger a false overheat, but I need to get closer to the small computer terminal just above its legs" Phantom replied looking absently at the floor trying to remember exactly what was needed.

"And that helps us how?" Raiden asked while he turned to the left and stopped about ten feet from the side wall.

"It'll open the back panel, right?" Otacon said.

Phantom nodded. "Then someone has to go inside the back and deactivate the bomb, turn it into a paper weight."

"You mean input the wrong code three times" Snake replied. "Then we stop Metal Gear itself."

"I suggest you try and destroy the smaller radome, it serves as the uplink to the person controlling the unit. The larger radome is close to impossible to damage…" Phantom said.

"Why would you build something with such a vulnerable weak point?" Raiden asked.

"I like to think of it as a character flaw." Phantom said.

Snake raised his eyebrow and looked at Otacon, he was almost smiling. Snake then looked at Phantom and thought. _Nerds! _He remembered that Metal Gear Rex shared the same weak point. "Alright, then…"

A large explosion to the left side blew up most of the fortress wall and almost tipped the jeep on its side. The Metal Gear had ripped a massive hole in the wall with its canon, Snake shouted. "Drive!!"

Raiden accelerated, just a second later another canon round blew another hole in the side wall.

"We can't stay here circling the place forever!!" Raiden shouted through all the noise and sand that had flown up into the air.

"Wait a sec…" Snake got his hands on the machine gun and again another hole ripped apart the wall. Snake saw the Metal Gear through the hole and a few soldiers behind it. "Phantom! Can you do whatever you need to do alone?"

Phantom looked at Snake's eyes through his hazmat suit visor. Suddenly he felt more aware, is mind focused. _Me? _For several years Tiger had poisoned his mind, tales that Salil was betrayed by his brother, but Solid Snake seemed different. _No, he's nothing like you said Tiger! _Phantom nodded and accepted Snake's challenge. "Yes I can!!" _If they knew they would stop me!! _

"Get out of the car then! Raiden, we act as a diversion and wait until Phantom opens up the back panel!!" Snake shouted as Raiden turned to the right, now they were heading towards the backside of the fortress, but circling around the place wasn't going to help them for much longer.

Before Phantom left the jeep they escaped another canon round, a fresh hole appeared on the fortress wall. "Go! Use one of the holes to get behind Metal Gear!" Snake shouted and Phantom jumped from the jeep. He fumbled to the ground, but the sand would prevent any serious injury.

"Turn around!" Snake said.

_Is this is plan, to divert Metal Gear's attention! _Raiden thought as he turned the jeep around, they wheezed past Black Phantom then the fresh made hole and headed towards the main gate.

* * *

After several rounds fired Tiger was getting aggravated. "They don't stop moving, the telemetry is to slow!!"

Marsh was standing behind Tiger watching as he handled the holographic display with incredible speed. But Tiger still hadn't hit anything but the inside wall. There were almost half a dozen holes and still the bright red spot appeared on the x-ray visor of the hologram.

Before Tiger fired again he saw the jeep turning around, it was heading back towards the grounds, the soldiers that were in the main building were now near the gate. _You think you can take me just because I missed!! _"Come Snake, come!"

Marsh could see a strange look in Tiger's eyes and obsession, something was terribly wrong.

"Let's see…" Tiger searched the display for something, something new. "…ahh, yes!!" He pushed the holographic button and a new display appeared. As soon as the jeep got through the gate he fired.

* * *

"We got company!!" Raiden said seeing that the pathway inside was being guards by enemy soldiers.

_I didn't come here for this! _Otacon thought while crouching further down into the passenger seat.

Snake got the M240 ready and began firing, as soon as they cleared the gate everything went upside down.

* * *

Phantom got up fairly quick and saw rocks that used to belong to the fortress wall. He looked inside and saw the watchtower completely destroyed, the cabin part of the Iroquois was tilted to the side at its base. Tents were smashed to the ground and a few feet away from all this stood Metal Gear Black. Phantom sighed and began walking towards the hole in the wall, his mind began to go over the steps of what he needed to do to get the job done. _I need to get the terminal open and then input the codes…after that…_ After Snake had asked him if he could do the job alone, the thought sprang to his mind that maybe faith had a hand in all this. _ It had to be me…_ Phantom proceeded past the hole in the wall and before he took another step inside he saw the Metal Gear firing missiles from its large back. The missiles flew up into the air a few feet before rushing towards the jeep that was near the gate. Enemy soldiers that were by the gate and the jeep disappeared from Phantom's view. The missile explosion created a cloud of sand around the area. _Snake, Dr. Emmerich!! Did they die? _ Phantom stood still for just a few seconds before realizing it didn't matter. _ I'll do my part… _ Phantom started to run towards the Metal Gear which had its back to him. He ran across the crumbled tents and scraps of metal, probably from the Iroquois. Metal Gear was getting closer. Phantom could hear his breathing with crystal clarity while inside the hazmat suit. He saw the panel that hid the terminal. He looked to the side and jumped on top of some wooden crates and then on to a tent that wasn't entirely destroyed. He was now even with the Metal Gear Black's legs. _ Now!! _Though not very athletic, Phantom was able to make the jump and get a hold of the legs frame to prevent falling, he only had one chance.

* * *

The stinger missiles hit the ground area just beside the jeep as it entered the grounds. "Damn this!!" Tiger cursed realizing he had missed.

"Tiger!! The soldiers!" Marsh placed one hand on Tiger's shoulder and pulled.

Tiger reacted violently. "They no longer matter!!" He almost shouted. "Snake and Ocelot are the only things important now!!"

"Ocelot! What are you talking about?" Marsh pulled Tiger's shoulder again, but a quick turn of Tiger's head and a glance at his eyes made Marsh back down.

Marsh swallowed dry, something had happened to Tiger, something he didn't quite understand.

Tiger was again focused on the display in front of him, he switched the vision to thermal. This way he could see through the cloud of sand. _Still alive eh!! _According to the thermal reading, three men were hiding behind what had to be the jeep. _Wait…_ Tiger opened his eyes wide. _ One of them is missing… _He thenproceeded to turn the Metal Gear left. _Did they leave him behind!_

It took only a few moments for Tiger to realize where the missing person was and who it was. A large thermometer icon appeared at the center of the display. _I can't believe you…Phantom! How can you condemn yourself so easily?_

* * *

Everything had gone perfectly so far, even after Metal Gear moved with him just over the legs, Phantom was able to open the terminal and caused the overheating, unfortunately his good luck was about to end. A mechanism that Phantom himself installed was activated as soon as he triggered the overheat alarm, the weapon that Phantom hadn't told about to Snake or Otacon. Three small holes placed around Metal Gear's torso just over the legs opened up and spat out fire. The fire jetted at an amazing speed and quantity. Soon Phantom was engulfed in the flames. His hazmat suit protected him enough until he jumped to the ground. Another person without a protective suit like his would've died instantly.

Suddenly a voice came on through the Metal Gear. "Phantom?" Tiger's voice was calm. "Phantom what are you doing…what's the reason for this…betrayal?" Metal Gear was turning, the fire still roared, burning tents and all that was around, Phantom began to feel a little hotter.

"Betrayal!!" Phantom screamed, he knew very well that Tiger could hear him. "You betrayed me first!! You killed them, you killed my children!!"

"…" Tiger kept silent and Phantom stood still watching as the Metal Gear turned to face him.

"I did what I had to do… you were…you were… too attached" Tiger spoke calmly.

"There's no excuse for what you did!" Phantom screamed again, he was starting to feel extremely hot and uncomfortable.

"The Unit, it was all that mattered!!" Tiger replied. "I'm sorry Phantom…" The Metal Gear took a step towards Phantom, the fire roared just inches away from his face, the hazmat suit was not protecting anything anymore. Phantom could see small wrinkles on his transparent visor and his small computer on his right hand exploded. _So this is how I die? Back to the fire… _Phantom took his right hand over his heart and stood still, while the flames devoured him.

Memories of the ballet recitals of her daughter Anna and Lego building with is adoptive son Marc came to his mind. "Don't worry…I'll be with you soon…" He said and closed his eyes.


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

The ground shook because of the massive concrete block that fell from the floor above yards away behind the two soldiers that were close to kill Naomi and Johnny. The noise startled them and a look away was all it took for Johnny to react. He got on his feet and overpowered the man that had his gun pointed at Naomi's head, Johnny threw himself to him causing him to fire his gun but hitting nothing but concrete inches away from Naomi. The other turned around and pointed his gun at his partner, Naomi didn't even think about what she was doing, she got up and grabbed the soldier's gun. There was no way she could take him on, but maybe if she could help Johnny not get dead they might have a chance.

"What are you doing!?" The soldier saw the look of strain in Naomi as she tried to keep the gun away from Johnny.

The other solider on the ground began to curse as he tried to get Johnny off him. Johnny was keeping his hands on the gun, trying to take it away from the enemy. It was a weird dance. Fights are usually like this, ugly and much too close where one can hear and feel the anger of its enemy. When Johnny got a hold of the gun's butt he pulled it upwards and hit the enemy on the chin knocking him out. He quickly turned around and saw Naomi fighting, trying to get the gun from the other soldier, she was failing miserably. The soldier was shaking her furiously left and right, she had no more grip, but it didn't matter, Johnny shot the HKG36K. A single shot left Naomi standing with the gun she so desperately wanted. The enemy lied flat on the floor with a gunshot wound in the leg.

"AHHH!!" He screamed.

"Shut up!" Naomi raised the machine gun and then thrust it down as hard as she could. It struck the soldier right on top of the head. The blow echoed through the basement and the soldier was down.

Naomi sighed and dropped the weapon.

"Are you ok?" Johnny asked as he struggled to get up.

"I'm fine…and you?"

"I don't think it's recommended to get into fights after being shot in the ass, but I'll live…"

"Not if we don't disarm the charges" Naomi said sighing again and then turned her head and looked at the concrete block. _Whoever triggered that just saved us…_

"Look!" Johnny was pointing at a close pillar, an entire side of the pillar and a large part of the ceiling was covered with plastic explosives. They headed towards it.

"I didn't think it would be so much!!" Naomi said as she gazed at the explosives.

"A building this large, you bet" Johnny replied and got close to the pillar, a small box with a keypad and a yellow was what controlled the explosives. "Just give me a minute" Johnny opened up the small box with the computer and saw several wires. "Just need to take a small piece and these will be useless" Johnny took his hand inside the circuit and pried out a small piece. "There" he threw the piece to the ground and stepped on it.

"One down, three to go!"

The other one was easier to find, however Johnny's behind was hurting more and more.

"After this, you should go to a hospital" Naomi said as she saw him walking kind of funny.

"Yeah, I think I'll stop in the bathroom first, I don't think my stomach is all that well"

Naomi almost smiled, but something stopped her. She wasn't one of these people that smiled often. Whenever she did, she always felt bad, like she wasn't worth enough to 

smile. After several minutes, they found and dismantled one more charge, there were only two left, but before they left the second one Johnny noticed something. The yellow light was blinking. _What the…_ "OH NO!" He said raising his voice.

"What, what is it?" Naomi asked.

"That light!! Someone activated the bombs! They can denote anytime they want!!"

"But…" _there are still people inside…_

"We need to get out of here now!! Get as far away as we can!" Johnny began to move towards the open area.

"NO!" Naomi screamed. "Listen, I can't tell you to stay, but you can at least tell me how to deactivate them. I saw you took out just a small piece, I can do that"

"Are you crazy, you need to deactivate both and they are several feet apart! You won't make it!"

"Please!" Naomi said._ I need to do this one thing right…for me._

Johnny was about a foot away from Naomi when he spoke. "A small gray piece with yellow stripes, it's the only there, take it and smash it. That way the charge won't be detonated by remote" Johnny saluted Naomi. "See you Naomi…" He turned around and began running away as best as he could.

Naomi took a deep breath and then started to run.

* * *

In the holographic display words had appeared beneath the thermometer icon, 'Emergency Venting', Tiger knew that the 'Emergency Venting' consisted in depleting all the fuel used for the flamethrowers placed around the Metal Gear and opening the back panel to let air in and cool everything down. _Why would he do that? _"Phantom?" Tiger said calmly. "Phantom what are you doing…what's the reason for your betrayal?"

"Betrayal!! You betrayed me first!! You killed them, you killed my children!!"

Marsh heard Phantom's words attentively. _What!! _Tiger had no reaction. He simply turned the Metal Gear. "I did what I had to do… you were…you were… too attached" Tiger was speaking calmly, almost regretting what he was saying. _ I had my orders from the Patriots…_

"There's no excuse for what you did!" Phantom screamed again.

_I'm sorry you feel that way Phantom…you leave me no choice._ "The Unit, it was all that mattered!!" Tiger replied. "I'm sorry Phantom…" Tiger could see Phantom's outline in the display, he approached him with the Metal Gear. The display was practically white because of the fire. Tiger changed it to the normal display and saw Phantom surrounded by flames.

"What the hell Tiger! You're killing him…" Marsh now grabbed Tiger's right arm. "Is what he said true?"

"Does it matter, Marsh?" Tiger asked pulling his arm away from Marsh's grip. "He's been dead since I brought him to the Unit…he's nothing but a Phantom. At long last he'll have peace."

"How can you say that Tiger…did you really killed his children?" Marsh asked with small tears in the eyes.

"I had no choice, I was ordered too…the Patriots wanted his service and he would be a valuable asset to the Unit, but only if…only if he knew grief, a grief so hard to endure that would change him!"

Marsh sighed. "How could you…" Marsh was sobbing at the sight in Tiger's holographic display. The fire had finally stopped and Phantom was in view, his hazmat suit looked extremely burnt. "…you have lost your honor, I can't believe I called you my…"

Suddenly the entire tridimensional holographic display alerted to damage being made to one of the legs.

"What!!" Tiger said and quickly turned the torso of the Metal Gear, whatever hit the unit had to come from the back. _Snake…_

* * *

Snake's eyes opened up slowly. He could feel his head throb with pain and his ears ringing. The jeep was on its side. Otacon and Raiden were lying on the sand next to Snake.

"Otacon!" He said not even hearing his voice. "Raiden!" he spoke again and then saw Raiden moving his arm and getting on his knees.

The ringing on his ears stopped and afterwards he heard Raiden trying to wake up Otacon.

"Wake up!"

Otacon opened his eyes and raised his head. His glasses were heavier than ever, because of all the sand inside. "What!?" Otacon said as he took the glasses out and took off the sand from them.

"Are you two alright?" Snake asked trying to get on his feet.

"Yeah!" Raiden replied feeling if all of his equipment was safe.

"I'm fine" Otacon answered. "And you?"

"Just a few scratches! He missed by a few inches" Snake replied. "We were luck the jeep turned on its side, we're protected, for now!"

"Yeah, but for how…" Before Otacon could finish his sentence the voice of Tiger was heard all around.

"Phantom? Phantom what are you doing…what's the reason for this…betrayal?"

"Dr. Brown!" Otacon said and got to his feet just enough to see over the jeep. Raiden and Snake followed and soon they saw the Metal Gear engulfed in flames. They could also hear someone shouting, but no one else was in sight.

"I did what I had to do… you were…you were… too attached" Tiger spoke again through the speakers.

"Where's Phantom?" Snake asked trying to figure out whom Tiger was talking too.

"The Unit, it was all that mattered!!" Tiger spoke yet again. "I'm sorry Phantom…"

A few seconds later the fire stopped and the three of them saw the horrible sight.

"The hazmat suit…on the ground!" Otacon pointed out! "He was there the entire time…"

_He knew…he knew about it and he still went for it…_ "Right! Raiden, Otacon one of you guys must get inside Metal Gear!" Snake said swiftly, he had a plan.

"What?" Raiden turned to him.

"Phantom lost his life so that we could have this opportunity, we are not going to let it go to waste! Help me turn the jeep around" he ordered Raiden. Once the jeep was turned he grabbed the stinger launcher and the extra missile from the ground. "Now I'll distract Metal Gear! Good luck!" Snake said and sped off into some of the tents near the hangar area.

"What the hell!" Otacon said startled by the whole situation. "What kind of plan…"

"Don't worry Otacon! It'll work. Grab on, we're going outside through the gate. We can sneak up on Metal Gear from behind through one of those!" Raiden said confidently as he stared at the broken wall just behind Metal Gear"

"It will work!" Raiden said again and started the jeep. "It still runs!"

"You mean you didn't even know that the jeep would start?" Otacon asked, but it was pointless, Raiden had sped off out of the gate!"

Snake had been running past the tents making sure he dropped the stinger launcher in a strategic place. _This has got to work! _He started running again, dropping his M4 clips along a path. _I can see it!! _ The time had come. Snake got his M4 ready, aimed at Metal Gear's legs and opened fire.

* * *

"Snake!!" Tiger shouted. "This Metal Gear was designed to sustain severe impacts, even the legs can regenerate over time! There's nothing you can do now!!"

Raiden and Otacon heard Tiger shouting over Metal Gear speakers and they knew that Snake didn't have much time, Raiden would have to hurry. They circled to the right side of the outside wall and reached one of the many holes made by Metal Gear's canon. Raiden stopped the jeep and got close to the hole. He could see the Metal Gear's back and Snake very far away. Phantom had to be around what looked like crumpled up burning tents. "Let's move!" He said and signaled Otacon to follow him. He had his M4 ready just in case Metal Gear decided to turn back.

"You think you can take Metal gear on all alone!! Think again!!" The canon shot echoed around the place making Raiden focus his eyes on Snake's position, but he wasn't there anymore.

"What the…"

"Otacon!!" Raiden interrupted Otacon when they reached Phantom.

Phantom was still alive but his movements and breathing were slow. Raiden got past the burning tents ruble and took a hold of Phantom, he grabbed him and carried him out of harm's way, in the distance he could hear Metal Gear firing one more time.

"Here!" Raiden laid him down next to Otacon. "I need to go" Raiden said as he ran off.

"Good luck!" Otacon said and then stared at Black Phantom, his transparent visor was all wrinkled and his entire suit was practically glued to his already deep scarred body. "Oh god!!" Otacon said as he kept observing Phantom's wounds while another sound of a weapon firing erupted from Metal Gear.

* * *

Raiden ran as fast as he could towards Metal gear, it was close, but he still had no idea on how to reach the top of its back. When he got dangerously close he did the best he could, with an acrobatic leap he got right on top of the legs. With fantastic luck, another leap got him to grab the ledge of the Metal Gear's back with both hands. The opening was just above. Suddenly he felt a shake and one of his hands moved from the ledge. Two small missiles had just launched from the back inches away from him. _Damn it, hold it Raiden…you have to hold on!! _Raiden thought to himself as he tried to get his grip back, Snake was counting on him, even after all the stupid things he had done on this mission Snake still trusted him blindly. "C'mon!" Raiden whispered to himself and was able to get a good grip on the ledge and heaved himself up. The entrance was big for one person, but no equipment. _Alright!!_ Raiden let go of his M4 and jumped inside.

* * *

"Snake!!" Tiger shouted. "This Metal Gear was designed to sustain severe impacts, even the legs can regenerate over time! There's nothing you can do now!!"

Snake fired a few more shots as the Metal Gear began to move towards him, the clip was almost empty. _C'mon move…_The he saw Raiden and Otacon far away to the right entering the area and heading towards where Phantom was. _Good…there, the clip's empty… _Snake pressed the button to release the empty magazine and started running towards the tents in front of the hangar, Metal Gear was now in the open area that separated the equipment tents from the soldier's tents.

As soon as Snake got behind one of the tents and headed towards the place where he left the second clip he heard the shot. _Predictable!! _Snake jumped to the sand ground inches away from his spare clip, the cannon shot hit the side about three feet away, making a lot of noise but not causing any damage to him.He had left the clip on the ground, because reloading while he ran was dangerous and so was stopping to reload, if they were on the ground and if he knew where they were he could save time. He quickly inserted the new clip on the M4 and got ready to move again. The tents behind had been smashed to pieces, several equipment such as helmets and flak jackets were in plain view.

"You think you can take Metal Gear on all alone!! Think again!!" Tiger shouted.

Snake kept running towards some other tent, Raiden would have to hurry; he only had an extra clip before he got to the singer launcher. Another shot from Metal Gear's canon erupted just behind Snake. He quickly dropped to the ground on one knee and aimed at Metal Gear's legs again. _How did it get so close so fast!! _Snake thought as he saw Metal Gear perfectly. After he fired a few more shots he saw what looked like blood coming from Metal Gear's legs. _Damn! Need to move again! _ Snake began to run back again, zigzagging through the tents. He passed over his extra clip without stopping for he hadn't thought that Metal Gear would be so fast. After that Snake heard a loud bang just beside him and felt his entire body flying through the air and smashing into a nearby tent. He smashed right into the tent frame and felt a terrible pain in his right shoulder. Something had almost hit him.

"I finally have you in my sights Solid Snake…" Tiger's voice sounded seriously close. The large lights that stood on the top right of the Metal Gear now shone on Snake. "AH!! I got you now!" Snake raised his left arm over his head to cover the lights and saw one of Metal Gear legs rising. A flash of what had happened to Gray Fox back at Shadow Moses rushed past his mind. _This is it!! _The next thing Snake saw on his mind was a face, a very dear face to him. _Meryl! _The face alone gave him a second wind, the fight wasn't over.

* * *

Otacon moved Phantom away from the battle as much as he could. He was sure that Phantom didn't have a lot of time left, not with his wounds. After he dragged Phantom for almost five yards he stopped, Phantom was grunting and he got his head near his charred visor.

"Take…off…suit…" Phantom said.

"I can't…" Otacon replied. "It'll hurt too much!"

"Ple…ase" Phantom replied.

_Damn! _Otacon took both his hands and grabbed the top part of the hazmat suit. He began to lift it up over Phantom's head in hopes it would come off easily, but it didn't. He applied a bit more pressure, Phantom moaned with pain. _Almost…_ Otacon pulled again and he took the top part off. He cringed at the sight, Phantom's face and shoulders were visible, the burns had almost made him unrecognizable. _How could he still be alive…he was burnt twice… _Otacon thought as he looked at Phantom's eyes.

"Emmer…Hal…" Phantom said, his voice was very low. "…Tiger…main building…promise me…kill…" Phantom blinked his eyes several times as if waiting for Otacon's response.

"Yes, I promise" Otacon said trying to reassure Phantom before he died.

Phantom lifted up his right hand and took it over his heart. "…here…my plans…my son asked me…make him a robot…" Phantom tapped the area over his heart with his right hand a few times, alerting Otacon that he should get something there. "…continue my work…doctor Emmerich…"

Otacon placed his hand inside the hazmat suit and beneath what felt like burnt scaly flesh he took out a small metal case. Once he opened it he saw a small optical disc.

"…prototype…metal gear…unfinished…mar…mar...mar one"

Phantom's voice was now very low, a faint whisper his last words had been almost incomprehensible.

"What was that? Mark One?" Otacon said and he could've sworn he saw a faint smile on Phantom's face.

"…thank…you…" Phantom said and closed his eyes, his right hand motionless over his heart.

* * *

Raiden could see the very uncomfortable interior of Metal Gear's back; several thick wires that were all over the place made it difficult for him to move his arms. It was large enough to fit one person, but Raiden wouldn't recommend it to anyone. A small red light just over his head made it possible for him to search the interior and to look for the nuclear device. He had had lectures on how to find, recognize and disarm a nuclear device but he never actually thought he would use that knowledge. As he was practically standing up inside Metal Gear, looking down was hard, but after a few moments Raiden saw what had to be the tip of the bomb, the panel that he needed to open. Since he got his equipment back he now had his knife again. He would have to be careful not to damage the input keypad just beneath the panel. The rocking back and forth of Metal Gear and the constant noise of explosions and gunfire made it hard for him to concentrate and to hold the knife steady; he heard a few shouts made by Tiger through the Metal Gear speakers. _Snake! _He wondered how well Snake was faring up against Metal Gear, but right away he focused on the knife in his hand and opening the panel. _Alright…steady _Raiden managed to open the panel and saw the keypad beneath it. _Yes! _Then a nasty shake sent the knife from his hand and to the bottom, near his feet. _Crap! _Then another violent shake, hopefully Snake was fighting back. _I just need to make three wrong inputs…_Raiden then began pressing the buttons which would light up, inputting a random combination of numbers. After that he pressed the button that said 'ACTIVATE'. Once he did the lights turned off and a small red light lit up, it was a small row of three red LED's followed by a green one.

"Two more!" Raiden said reassuring himself, however out of nowhere a blinding white light streamed just inches away from Raiden's face. The noise of something starting up made Raiden realize what it was. _The DRS…lasers…_"Aw, give me a break!!" The first laser ran just over Raiden's shoulder, forcing him to move his head, the laser didn't seem to be in full working order but the fact remained that this was complicating things for Raiden. With the Metal Gear moving about everywhere and now with the lasers shooting from all sides Raiden saw his simple task turn into an almost impossible job. Raiden did the best he could to reach the keypad again, he was able to finish the second input, but the laser near his legs made it unfeasible to stay in the same position, he lifted himself a few feet up, he was now almost outside looking down at the light spectacle. _Now what!! _Without any ideas Raiden reached for his CODEC, he didn't remember that he and Snake should've been in contact before. He called and waited for the response.

"Yeah…sorry I didn't call, been busy!!" Snake replied making loud noises of effort.

"I've got a problem here!" Raiden said.

"You stick your head outside and you'll see I'm not too good either" Snake replied and Raiden heard Metal Gear's minigun firing. _Damn, this is…wait…_Raiden had caught a glimpse of his knife, thanks to the massive amount of light that the lasers emitted. _Could it work!? _Raiden grabbed his High Frequency blade and got ready to make his 

move, he would have to be quick. He studied the pattern of the lasers for a few seconds and then saw the opening he needed, Snake was still grunting and panting on the CODEC. He dropped back deep inside and lifted his blade so it would stop two beams at the same time. He quickly punched in the key and saw the laser erupt from its origin and hit the blade, one of them shot upwards out of Metal Gear while the other blew a clean hole through the back, the blade turned shiny red right away. As soon as Raiden pushed the 'ACTIVATE' key the entire back of Metal Gear went dark apart from the small red light just over his head.

"That white light, Raiden are you there?" Snake asked on the CODEC.

"I did it Snake, I did it!!" Raiden replied clearly exhilarated.

"Good, now get out of there kid, I'm going to get the stinger!!" Snake replied and turned off the CODEC.

Raiden jumped up, grabbed the ledge and got out of Metal Gear, still holding his red hot blade. _What the!! _It seemed that Metal Gear was inside the same hangar room from where it came.


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Snake moved to the side as quickly as he possibly could in avertedly letting go of his M4, Metal Gear's leg and large foot smashed the tent frame like a small twig. Snake then rolled beneath Metal Gear and got behind it, he was now aware that his right shoulder had been dislocated and his M4 was gone. _This can't be good!! _Snake began running past the tents, he needed to find a place to hide and possibly get his shoulder back into the right position. When he saw the hangar coming closer he decided to run for it. Snake got to the small hangar door, opened it and closed it behind him.

"You can't hide from me!!" Snake heard Tiger's voice and then, with a loud roar, the entire front part of the hangar was ripped apart, the metal wall crumbled beneath Metal Gear as he smashed into the front just a few feet away from Snake. Snake began to ran to the back of the hangar, Metal Gear's torso turned and began following Snake. Through the corner of his eye, when he passed by the opened door, Snake saw the Metal Gear destroy Ocelot's torture machine like it was nothing. Its minigun began to fire, but Snake continued to run while bullets seemed to follow him, he was now getting close to the door of Phantom's private room. Metal Gear ripped the metal wall that separated the long corridor Snake was in from the other rooms. "Just great!!" Snake ran a few more feet before turning right and entered the massive hangar where Metal Gear was originally. Metal Gear's main canon fired and ripped a massive hole just inches away from the door that Snake had just used, metal shards flew everywhere and Snake had no choice but to drop to the floor. His shoulder was hurting like hell, even more than before, but he had to keep running, he had no choice against Metal Gear all alone and weaponless. Snake got to this feet and got behind some of the crates that stood in the massive hangar, he could hear Metal Gear coming inside the hangar, ripping what was left of the wall over the door. Snake took his left hand to his shoulder and felt it up. He grinded his teeth as he summoned up the will to get the shoulder back into place. _Alright…_Snake grunted as low as he could and finally he did it. He sighed with relief, but right away he had to move again, another canon round destroyed the metal crate behind where he hid completely, luckily he had moved into the open a second earlier. Now Metal Gear got the minigun ready, Snake looked at the iron frame where Metal Gear once stood. He ran to it while his CODEC began ringing. "Yeah…sorry I didn't call, been busy!!" Snake answered the CODEC as he ran.

"I've got a problem here!" Raiden said making it pretty obvious that Raiden had found its share of troubles inside Metal Gear

"You stick your head outside and you'll see I'm not too good either" Snake replied as he heard the bullets hit just behind him. Once he got to the iron frame he hid behind several thick iron bars and hoped for the best. _I need to get out of here, need to get that Stinger…_ Snake glanced at Metal Gear from time to time as he moved away from its fire that luckily hit the iron structure.

"AHHH!! Snake I'll make that frame crumble over you!" Tiger said through Metal Gear speakers.

Snake knew what was coming; a single well place shot from Metal Gear's canon could collapse the entire structure where he was hiding. As soon as Metal Gear stopped firing the mingun Snake realized he had to get out of where he was. He was about to run towards the open when he saw a stream of white light erupt from Metal Gear's back. _ That light!! _

"That white light, Raiden are you there?" Snake asked.

"I did it Snake, I did it!!" Raiden replied.

"What the…!!" Snake heard Tiger say. That gave him a small chance to get out of harms' way.

"Good, now get out of there kid, I'm going to get the stinger!!" Snake replied and started running towards where the door to the hangar once stood.

Snake had rushed past Metal Gear and was now on the small corridor again. He jumped over debris and parts of Ocelot's torture machine and headed outside. _Now it's up to me, with Metal Gear's nuclear weapon deactivated all I need is to destroy the small radome…_ Snake reached the outside, with no sight or sound that Metal Gear was close. A few feet ahead and he saw it, sitting on the sand, the only weapon he could use to stop the dreaded machine. He grabbed the stinger missile launcher and got it over his right shoulder, the pain on it was gone but it still felt sore. He aimed at the front of the hangar and waited, he noticed that the tents in front of it were practically all on the ground smashed up. The next thing he saw was someone running out of the hangar with a shiny object it its hand. _Raiden!! _And then the Metal Gear was visible, he moved past the hole it made before on the front of the hangar. Its lights were shining on Raiden as he ran. Snake saw the opportunity; he aimed the stinger carefully at the smaller radome that stood just over Metal Gear's minigun and beneath its massive wing like structure with several bright lights on it. _C'mon…_ Metal Gear was moving towards him, the radome kept getting bigger on the scope and the time was getting shorter. _There!_ Snake took a deep breath and fired.

* * *

Tiger had been chasing after Snake relentlessly; he had narrowly escaped Metal Gear's fire and was now hiding behind the large iron structure that had been used to hold Metal Gear. "AHHH!! Snake I'll make that frame crumble over you!" Tiger said taking his finger near the small button that fired Metal Gear's main canon, but before he could fire something stopped him, the entire holographic tridimensional display flickered and disappeared for a second. "What the…!!" Tiger almost shouted. _What happened? _

"What's wrong Tiger?" Marsh asked, but Tiger didn't respond.

When Tiger focused his eyes on the display again he noticed that Snake was gone and something was missing from the display. _No…could he…_ Then, when he saw someone running away from the hangar, someone that wasn't Snake he realized what had happened.

After Phantom began construction of Metal Gear, Tiger made sure he had enough manpower to create a Metal Gear capable of modern warfare through cities at day or at night, Phantom had already completed research on a new type of mechanical legs, but the upper body was completely remade after the Black Unit was ostracized by the Patriots. Without any enormous funds, Phantom had to do the best he could with the parts he had available to him. The last piece of the puzzle was a nuclear device that was to be installed in the back part of Metal Gear. It was Tiger's insurance.

"_Tiger, the high powered laser beams create a sort of grid barrier. If anyone has the luck to get inside Metal Gear the lasers will stop them" _Phantom said pointing at the plans on top of the table of the recreation room.

"_Very good Phantom, very good indeed. Can you actually pull this off?" _Tiger asked.

"_Yes. I can. I've also got this for you, the interface and the software is ready" _Phantom showed Tiger what looked like a thick belt made of metal. _"It's the control device, once you sync it up with the computer in charge of Metal Gear systems the belt will display a tridimensional tactile hologram that you can use to control every aspect of Metal Gear. If anyone manages to disable the control system on Metal Gear itself the _

_nuclear device will be activated." _Phantom sighed. _"We're really doing this aren't we Tiger?"_

"_Yes we are my friend. Amazing work Phantom!" _Tiger replied and patted him on the back.

Back to the present Tiger was aware that Phantom had helped the enemy accomplish the one thing he said to be 'close to impossible'. The nuclear device had been disarmed. _ Damn you Phantom…in the end I underestimated you, but I can still get my hands on another nuclear device…all I need is time, and that I'll gain after I destroy these two…_Tiger could see a man holding a large blade running towards the exit, Metal Gear began its pursuit.

_That man! _Marsh thought as he saw the man on the display running with the blade firmly gripped on his right hand.

Tiger raced behind the man towards the exit of the hangar, Metal Gear ripped apart what was left of the metal wall. Outside Tiger was getting closer to the man holding the blade when all of a sudden the entire display disappeared and didn't appear again.

_What now!!_ Tiger hurried and pressed the small button on his belt. But nothing happened. Tiger's expression changed from frustration to hanger. "NO!!" He shouted, took off the belt and smashed it to the ground. "Damn you PHANTOM!! You told them all about it!!" Tiger screamed at the heavens.

"Tiger, what is happening? Please tell me!?" Marsh asked quietly wondering why Tiger acted so differently for the past minutes.

"What's happening?" Tiger whipped around and faced Marsh. "We were betrayed…that's what happened…it's only you and I now Marsh" Tiger placed both his hands on Marsh's shoulders. "The Unit is no more, everything we five worked for is now gone, all that matters now is to stay alive" Tiger took his hands from Marsh and headed towards the exit of the recreation room. "Let's end this on our terms…Marsh, get ready for battle"

* * *

The women at Philanthropy were all in extreme situations, fighting for their lives. Naomi was hurrying across the basement in search of the last two explosives charges, Mei Ling and Rose had arrived at the server room and would now try and contact anyone that could help them and Meryl. Meryl was about to initiate her plan. She had been motionless and keeping her eyes closed for a few minutes. When her uncle arrived and Velkan threatened to kill her in front of her Meryl saw the opportunity she needed, Velkan had her gun pointed at her without knowing that she was awake. Meryl slowly opened her eyes and saw that Velkan had his face turned away looking at Campbell. Meryl opened her eyes wide and winked at her uncle before kicking Velkan's SOCOM out of his hand. Velkan was about to turn around when Meryl got to her feet and again kicked his cane from under his hand. The fall was thunderous, The Major who was by one of the entry points of the lounge area got Campbell's HKG36K ready to fire, Campbell picked up Velkan's SOCOM from the ground while Meryl grabbed her uncle and pulled him to run with her. They headed towards a corridor, away from the machine gun's fire.

"Meryl!" Campbell stopped Meryl from running anymore; they were just a few feet away from the lounge area. They heard Velkan shout at the Major. "Listen to me"

"Uncle, c'mon we need to move!" She said trying to pull her uncle's arm, but it was no good.

"No, you go. I have to deal with Velkan…deal with the past" Campbell said. "You still have some time to get out of here." He said.

"They'll kill you!!" Meryl said, listening to Velkan snap at the Major to find his SOCOM.

"Don't worry about that…"

"No!! I do worry, you don't have to defend me. I can take care of myself and I can make my own decisions. If you're staying behind to fight then I'm helping you out, whether you like it or not!" Meryl said.

"Can you fight with that wound?" Campbell asked pointing at the bullet wound on Meryl's shoulder that was still bleeding.

"Yes" Meryl said rapidly.

"Very well, let's go around the lounge area" Campbell said resuming his walk across the corridor.


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

"That goes in here…" Mei Ling was speaking to herself as she tried to get one of the server machines running.

The server room had bright white lights near the bottom of the wall that lit up the entire room. Rose and Mei Ling were in one of the corners opposite the entrance door.

"I think the wires are all good." Rose said as she gave Mei Ling a handful of wires.

"Thanks" Mei Ling replied as she connected them to the server machine and then a single one to the laptop she took from the enemy.

"Alright, 'Luck never gives; it only lends.'" Mei Ling said smiling at Rose and then started up the laptop. After a few seconds Mei Ling had a grin on her face. "We're online!!"

Rose was smiling when two large hands grabbed her neck and lifted her up above the ground, the HKG36K that she had before was sitting on the floor.

"So, you're the bitch that stole my gun!!" The man lifting Rose up said and then threw her to the side.

Mei Ling stood motionless and quiet as two enemy soldiers looked at her with murder in their eyes.

"Take care of that one, I'll kill this one!" The man that had just let of go of Rose spoke and the other man got near Mei Ling, picked up the weapon and pointed it at Mei Ling.

Rose felt a hand grab her clothes and lifting her up again. Rose was face to face with the soldier's protective mask and then felt a very strong slap on the face. The noise echoed across the server room, Rose fell flat on the ground again, her hair was over her face and through it she saw the other soldier pointing the gun at Mei Ling_. If I don't do something…she'll die. _The memory of the man she had killed before rushed to her mind, but she didn't feel sad or regret anymore, those feelings had been replaced by rage and fury.

* * *

Velkan got to his feet after a little bit of help from the Major. "Damn!"

"Colonel, please…let's get out of here and finish the mission!" The Major said.

"No!" Velkan snapped back at him. Without warning Velkan's radio made a few beeps, announcing a transmission he was expecting after the mission was over.

Velkan grabbed the radio and the spoke at the Major. "Keep a lookout for them! I think they might me coming back!" Velkan said.

The Major complied, Velkan's ability to see through walls made him sure that they wouldn't be surprised.

"I need to answer this call!" Velkan took a few steps towards the large window. His legs were hurting pretty bad, but he could still walk. "Yes!" He answered the radio.

"It's me!" Ocelot's voice was unmistakable. "How's everything going?"

"We ran into some problems…maybe you knew it would be like this!!" Velkan said.

"I made the plan as a favor to you and now you're telling me it's my fault!!" Ocelot replied. "You should blame yourself for your incompetence!"

Velkan grunted. "I will finish my task, that I promise you…the next time I contact you this will all be over. Velkan out!" _Damn him!_

"Sir! I think I hear something!" The Major said. Velkan turned around and saw through his bloody eye that two figures were getting near the lounge area.

_It's time…there is no turning back now. _Beneath his overcoat Velkan took something out, a small squared box with a red button on it. _One press arm, the second one…detonate. _Without doubts, Velkan pressed the button once.

* * *

Otacon stood still and quiet fidgeting with the disc that Phantom had given to him, after a loud bang noise Otacon looked and saw where the noise had come from, what he saw next scared him. Metal Gear moved inside the hangar like it was made of paper. For sure Snake was in trouble. Otacon got ready to move. He placed the disc inside his pocket and found that there was already something there. It was Snake's nanofinder. He placed the disc inside and took the nanofinder out. There was a small crack on the side of it protective case, Otacon opened the small device carefully and saw that the battery was out of place. If only Snake had checked it he might have found out that Susanne was actually one of them earlier. The thought made Otacon remember the woman she knew as Susanne was actually called Violet and was one of the members of the Black Unit, the same Unit that they came to destroy. Otacon heard another loud bang and looked at the nanofinder… _I can help Snake and Raiden…_Otacon placed the battery correctly and right away the nanofinder began blinking and vibrating. Just like when Snake got near Black Garand, now the nanofinder was relaying information to the satellite that Black Phantom was dead, once the light turned red the deed was done. The sound of battle still roared near the great hangar.

Otacon looked once again at Phantom's scarred face. _I'll continue your good work…Dr. Brown. _ Otacon finally left Phantom's body alone and started running towards the fight.

* * *

Metal Gear Black, it was just another diabolical machine built for nuclear destruction and modern warfare, to fight side by side with soldiers and air support. Its three legs moved almost human like across any terrain. An unmanned machine, it was the ultimate tool for any commander of the battlefield. As it stood now it was nothing but a large paperweight. Snake's stinger missile had hit the small radome with incredible accuracy and had made him stop right away before it had a chance to fire at Raiden.

"Nice shot, but a little too close!" Raiden said placing his blade back on its case on his back.

"Yeah, we got him." Snake said while letting go of the stinger missile launcher, his right shoulder was still hurting.

"So, where's everybody else?" Raiden said as he looked around the grounds. The lights around the fortress wall illuminated the place quite well. No night sky could hide the fact that the place was now deserted.

"No idea…" Snake replied when they heard a scream.

"Snaaaaaaaake!! Raiiiiiiden!!" Otacon was waving his arms like a madman. "Are you okay!! Metal Gear is right there!!"

Snake and Raiden looked at each other and then at Otacon. As he came closer he became aware that Metal Gear was deactivated.

"How's Phantom?" Snake asked when Otacon was close enough.

Otacon was a bit out of breath so he just shook his head.

"Dead, huh…" Snake sighed.

"I've also got your nanofinder working again…" Otacon said before getting his breathing back to normal. "Phantom told me that Tiger is on the main building"

"What about all the enemy soldiers?" Raiden asked.

"No idea." Otacon replied. "Since the plan was to invade the U.S. maybe he sent them on ahead"

"No. Tiger wouldn't leave his men like this, something is up. We still have to find Liquid, he was the one that let us go from Phantom's room on the hangar" _I still don't know why…_

"Well, what's our next move then?" Raiden asked.

"We still have a mission to complete and a deadline…we need to find Tiger and the last member" Snake said making everyone focus in the task at hand. "Then we definitely need to find what Liquid's doing here, what's his connection with the Black Unit and…" _Tiger called Liquid his master…he called him Salil…_

"Snake?" Otacon said wondering why Snake had stopped mid-sentence.

"Otacon!" he said. "You need to get out of here and contact H.Q. they would want to know how we are."

"Not yet!" Otacon replied, making Snake and Raiden look at him disbelievingly. "We still need to confirm the Black Unit's members by using the nanofinder…

"I'll take care of that" Snake opened up his hand and stretched it out to Otacon.

"No…I need…I need to find Susanne to check her identity" Otacon said.

Snake immediately took notice of Otacon's tone of voice. Snake closed his hand and nodded. "I saw them taking her towards the main building. I guess we're all heading that way."

"By the way, I lost my M4 all I have is my SOCOM and my blade." Raiden said.

"Happens to the best" Snake replied realizing that he too had lost his M4 and searching through the rubble would be a waste of time. "Let's just hope that the main building has fewer soldiers" Snake reached for his SOCOM and got it ready, Raiden did the same thing. They began walking towards the main building entrance across broken tents, smashed up crates fire and smoke. The last members of the Black Unit waited for them inside.

* * *

"We ran into some problems…maybe you knew it would be like this!!" Velkan's voice was loud as it came off Ocelot's headphones. Ocelot was flying over the desert at night waiting for the right time, but Velkan's news were not a part of his plan.

"I made the plan as a favor to you and now you're telling me it's my fault!!" Ocelot replied checking the Comanche's fuel gage. "You should blame yourself for your incompetence!"

Velkan grunted. "I will finish my task, that I promise you…the next time I contact you this will all be over. Velkan out!"

Ocelot turned off the long distance communication and began his descend towards the fortress. He could see the path of destruction left behind by Metal Gear, there were big holes on the outside wall and inside the grounds, tents were burned and smashed to the ground, the watchtower was broken in half, the hangar was ripped to shreds and a few feet in front of it stood the disabled Metal Gear. _He did it… _Ocelot smiled and as he circled across the main building's roof he caught a glimpse of someone. _Tiger…what are you doing…ah I see…_ From the entryway to the roof a figure emerged. _It couldn't be any better, two birds with one stone…_Ocelot began descending even further down, and soon the two men on the roof would hear the noise of the Comanche. _Get ready Snake…get ready._


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Otacon, Snake and Raiden had gone over the threshold of the main entrance, Raiden knew exactly where to go as Otacon told them that Tiger was probably controlling Metal Gear from the same room they had been held. But before Raiden took the lead something vibrated on his back. _The nanofinder_

"Snake!" Otacon said also feeling the nanofinder in his hand shaking.

"They are close!!"

Suddenly a voice was heard from far away, it seemed to be coming from the outside of the building. "Snake!! This is Black Tiger speaking…there are several speakers throughout the grounds…if you can hear me then come. The last two members of the Black Unit await you. One battle one man, Black Ronin is waiting for your friend in his private room while I'll be waiting in the roof. Please Snake grant me this favor…" The voice died out and a look of disbelief came over Raiden.

"He must be crazy if he thinks…"

"He's telling the truth!" Snake replied.

"What?" Raiden asked.

"Look around, this place is deserted, his entire army is gone and I have a feeling Liquid had something to do with it. They lost everything, but they don't want to run" _Could Tiger have been telling the truth… _"Let's go up the stairs quietly" Snake and Raiden had their SOCOM's ready. As they moved up the stairs the nanofinders stopped vibrating.

"Weird…" Raiden pointed out. "We seem to be getting away from…"

"Susanne!" Otacon said interrupting Raiden. "Its Susanne nanomachines…she must be on one of the soldier's quarters on the ground floor…" Otacon spoke with a slight quiver in his voice. Otacon then looked at Snake. "I need to go!" He said and immediately saw the stare of Snake and Raiden. "You two, be careful!" He said smiling. "Don't die!"

A nod from Snake was all it took for them to part ways, Otacon took the steps down and at the bottom of the stairs he waited until Raiden and Snake reached the first floor and disappeared from view. Otacon sighed and looked around, there were several doors around the floor, it was the soldier's quarters and according to the nanofinder somebody was inside one of the rooms. _Susanne…_

* * *

On the first floor, Snake and Raiden saw the massive door that led to Ronin's private room wide opened. Snake had never seen such an extravagant and beautiful sight in a closed space. Even from afar the garden looked incredible, bright green grass and a stunning cherry blossom tree. "What the…" Then Snake noticed that farther away from the garden was a figure, right away he knew that it had to be Black Ronin. Not only the large plaque over the main door said "Ronin" in Japanese but the only thing noticeable from the distance was a large samurai sword that the figure was holding.

"Snake! This is Tiger…I'm waiting for you on the roof…please join me…" Tiger's voice was again heard, now a bit muffled as Snake and Raiden were in the first floor.

"I guess he's all yours Raiden." Snake replied turning away and seeing a new set of stairs to the second floor.

"Snake wait…" Raiden turned and stopped Snake. "I have to talk to you…about me."

"We don't have time for this, we'll talk later" Snake replied and began moving up the stairs.

"Snake, I don't think I'm the man I'm supposed to be…" Raiden said hoping that Snake would stop and give a few words of advice. He did stop but he just turned his 

head and stared at Raiden. "It's true…ever since I can remember I've always been a soldier, a killer and that hasn't changed, no matter how hard I try I can't seem to shake it off. Sometimes…sometimes I even have pleasure when I kill a person, that's all I think about…the kill" Raiden remembered all that he had done in this mission, the men that he had killed and that he had no remorse in doing it. "Snake!" Raiden now stared into Snake's eyes like an innocent child waiting for guidance. "What if I'm a bad person…I can't…

"Stop!" Snake said finally going towards him. "I have no idea of who you are. Not really anyway. But you saved my life a few times and you've always helped me when I asked…more importantly there are people that love you the way you are" Snake said as he got closer to Raiden.

"Rose…my child…they deserve better, I'm not sure I'll be able to teach them the right things…"

Snake placed both his hands on Raiden's shoulders. "They want you, it's not their choice, love doesn't allow for choice. The things you've done and the things that define you will never disappear. You have to use them, make yourself stronger" Snake sighed. "This mission…was not our choice. I vowed never to do anything like this again, but I have to because it'll protect the people that…" Meryl's image rushed to his mind. "…that I care about. Otacon is doing the same thing and so are you" Snake tapped both his shoulders and said. "Now let's finish the mission, so you can go back to Rose and your child"

Raiden lifted up his head. "You have doubts about the mission, don't you?"

Snake sighed again. "…"

"You have doubts about the Black Unit, and yet you still want to complete the mission. You really are a legend Snake!" Raiden said and turned around. "I'll help you…I'll deal with Black Ronin, you can trust me now"

"I never stopped" Snake replied and turned to the stairs. Their paths differed but their fate was the same, to do battle with the last members of the Black Unit, to complete the operation that had been so adequately named Black Demise.

* * *

Rose got to her feet and again the soldier grabbed her, this time by the hair. "Let me go!!" Rose screamed preventing the other soldier from firing.

"Shut up!!" The soldier grabbing her shouted pulling her hair a bit more.

Rose then did something she thought unthinkable. Because of her long hair she turned around easily and faced the soldier and then kicked him in the groin area, the soldier immediately let go of Rose's hair but she didn't stop, she kicked him again in the same area and then again. All the fury she had bottled up was now set free. The other soldier looked surprised as he saw his buddy getting kicked to the ground by a woman. He turned the HKG36K and aimed at Rose, but as he fired he missed her. Something had wrapped itself around his neck and he couldn't aim his gun anywhere but up. Mei ling had grabbed a spare wire and had begun strangling the soldier. "Rose!! Take the gun!" Mei Ling shouted as she tried her best to pull harder on the wire around the enemy's neck.

Rose whipped around and took the gun from the soldier's hands and pointed to the man Mei ling was strangling, Rose gathered up her strength and with fierce she used the gun as a bat and swung just over the man's head. He collapsed unconscious on the floor, but Rose wasn't over yet, she turned and pointed the gun at the man that now had his hands on his privates.

"Please!" That was the enemy's last word as Rose took the butt of the gun and smashed into the enemy's face, breaking his nose in the process. He fell backwards knocked out.

Rose and Mei Ling were breathing heavily, like they had just run for miles.

"I thought you're going to kill them!" Mei Ling said.

Rose turned around and between heavy breathings she replied. "I could've…but I didn't…" She smiled and looked at the laptop in the corner. "Can you go on and try and contact anyone?"

Mei Ling looked at the laptop too and resumed her work. "I have an idea! I'm going to try and use an emergency burst transmission signal and…" Mei Ling began pushing keys passionately. "…and…"

Rose kept looking at her waiting for her to complete the sentence.

"…and…" A smiled appeared on her face as a voice sounded off from the laptop speakers. "…got it.

* * *

Otacon went through several empty quarters filled with bunk beds until she found the blood. Blood on the doorway and the fact that the nanofinder was shaking more than usual alerted him that Susanne was here. The room was dark so he tried to find the light switch. When he did and turned the lights on, he flinched and was almost out of breath. There she was, on the lower bed of a bunk bed, there were several bloody bandages on the ground and her body was lying in bloody sheets. Otacon's breathing quickened as he took a few steps closer, the blood and the gun wounds looked more real, but when he looked at her face, he felt a sentiment of tranquility. She had an expression of peace on her face. Otacon got beside the bed and got on his knees. "You…you tricked me…and I didn't even see it coming. Maybe I wanted to believe you actually liked me so I didn't pay enough attention to anything else" Otacon looked at Black Violet's hands. Her skin was a beautiful pasty white. He got a hold of her right hand and felt the silk touch of her skin. His eyes were tearing up. "I didn't want you to die…" _ Wolf…Emma…Susanne… _"I'm tired of seeing other people die while I go on living, I may help Snake and everything, but the next time I'll fight…at least you taught me that…" Otacon let go of her hand and grabbed the nanofinder, its small light was a steady red which meant that the information had been sent. "This is goodbye Susanne" Otacon got up, gave one last look at her face and grunted. "I mean…Violet" he turned around and left room, turning off the lights and closing the door behind him. _What now? _Otacon asked himself when he heard loud gunfire coming from up above. _Snake!! Is it my time to fight…_Otacon began running towards the stairs, he quickly reached the first floor and saw that the massive door that led to Black Ronin's secret garden was now closed, he was heading up another set of stairs when he stopped. _The computer…I need to try again…_Otacon interrupted his epiphany and headed towards the recreation room, once inside he saw a large thick belt just beside the desk and the computer turned on. "Alright, let's try it again!" Otacon got near the keyboard and redid the same thing when he was in room, when he tried to contact HQ. The last time he had been unsuccessful and this time he wasn't getting much luck. "Damn! Why don't they respond…" Suddenly Otacon saw an emergency signal with Philanthropy's HQ signature. He turned on the small microphone that was next to the monitor and spoke. "Is there somebody there?"

* * *

Ronin stood still and quiet staring as the man he knew as Snake talked to the other man, the one that Ronin so desperately wanted to fight. Something about that man struck similar to Ronin, a kind of look in his eyes. After what seemed like a long talk Snake finally moved away towards the upper floor leaving the other man walking 

towards Ronin. He crossed the threshold of the large door and Ronin quickly pressed a small button on the wall next to the wood panels. The door began to close behind Raiden, but he didn't turn around to watch it close up. Ronin was getting more anxious as the man came closer and the fight was on the verge of beginning. Raiden crossed the bridge, then the garden with the beautiful cherry blossom and then another bridge until they were just a few feet from each other. The room was exactly like the entrance room to the garden, but much bigger. The wood panels inside had several scrolls nailed to them and a small shrine that had sword stands on top was up against the back wall.

"Black Ronin!" Raiden said. He had never lowered his SOCOM while he came inside the room.

"You came here to kill me with that gun…" Ronin tilted its head to the side. "…I don't think so…that sword, it's very peculiar!"

Raiden smiled and then holstered his SOCOM. "Very well!" Raiden took out his sword from its case and held it firmly with both hands. "I can't let you live…"

"Don't worry…" Ronin replied. "…you'll be the one to die here!!" After saying this Ronin ran toward Raiden, the sword was held high ready to strike.

_What speed!! _Raiden thought as he saw Ronin coming towards him, he got ready for the defense, but suddenly Ronin disappeared from Raiden's view. _What the…_ Suddenly Raiden saw that Ronin had jumped over Raiden and turned in midair making a slash on Raiden's left shoulder and landing a few feet behind him. Raiden quickly turned around, but Ronin wasn't there anymore. Raiden felt another slash, this time on his chest. Ronin had circled behind him and was now to Raiden's left.

"I saw you move on that train…you're good!" Ronin said in a defense position. "…good reflexes, but something his holding you back, preventing you from achieving your full potential."

Raiden was surprised that someone that sounded so much younger than Raiden had all those things to say, he should be the better one, he had more experience. "Shut up!!" Raiden shouted and went for the attack, as fast as he could and with as much rage as he could gather.

* * *

Snake had finally reached the roof of the main building. The night was a few hours from ending but the artificial lights were more than enough for him to see his adversary. Tiger had his back turned to Snake, he had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up. He was holding a shiny metal object on his right hand, something that Snake had seen before, a curved blade of a very dangerous weapon. Tiger turned around while Snake took a few more steps towards him, like Raiden had done when he approached Ronin, the SOCOM was ready to fire.

Tiger sighed before speaking. "Snake, Solid Snake we meet at last with no barriers between us and time pressures…every time I look at you I see him. I'm curious though, what you said before, how can it be true, how can Salil take over Ocelot's body…"

"He double crossed you didn't he?" Snake didn't need for Tiger to answer. The look on Tiger's face was more than obvious. "Join the club, Liquid has learned a few things from Ocelot"

"It's true then…he really is inside Ocelot…then my dream. I should've known" Tiger replied. "He…" Before Tiger spoke another word a recurring sound drew closer, Snake and Tiger looked up and from the starry night sky a shadow appeared.

"The Comanche!!" Tiger spoke out loud immediately recognizing the helicopter that he had arranged for his operation. The helicopter flew down and landed quickly several feet away from Snake and Tiger in the place where the Iroquois used to be.

Snake and Tiger knew what was coming, who was inside the helicopter. Snake felt his hand grip his SOCOM better, all he needed was one good shot. Tiger felt the same way about his trusty blade. He held it tighter.

The helicopter touched the ground and all of a sudden the cockpit flew open and two gunshots were heard. As soon as Tiger saw the cockpit flying open he threw his blade, like Snake had seen in the carrier the blade was attached by a very thin wire to Tiger's wrist, but the blade stopped suddenly in mid air and Snake was about to fire when he felt the SOCOM slip his hand and fly to the side.

"My aim was never better eh…brother!" Ocelot's voice was audible but Liquid was speaking. Through the smoke of the barrels he stood grinning and then jumped off the cockpit and aimed the Colt Single Action Army's, one at Snake and one at Tiger.

"Liquid…" Snake said.

"…Ocelot!" Tiger shouted. "You!! You took my army away, all that I worked for..."

"Shut up Tiger!" Liquid Ocelot said abruptly interrupting Tiger. "You've changed the last time we met Tiger, but you never saw that I wasn't really Ocelot did you?"

Tiger was breathing rather quickly. "So it's true what he said…you're inside Ocelot…Salil"

"No, I'm not Salil, that name as no meaning anymore." Liquid ocelot looked at Snake never letting or moving his arms and his hands that held the Colts. "You know what Salil means don't you Snake, I bet you knew right away that Tiger was talking about me"

"…Salil in Arabic has two meanings…" Snake replied as his mind raced to find anything that he could do to stop Liquid. "…it can mean 'sword' or 'son'…"

"Quite right brother, the 'sword' is a reference to my tattoo 'Rod of Asclepius', I replaced the Rod for a Sword, but whenever anyone called me Salil I always heard 'son', the true son of Big Boss."

Tiger stared at Ocelot's eyes and he saw it again, the presence he had felt before hiding behind them. _It is Salil…Liquid Snake_

"This all happened after I escaped from Iraq, I found Tiger all alone in a small empty house, he had killed the family that lived there, and I'm not sure why…"

"Liquid?" Tiger spoke with a slight tremble in his voice. "After what you did for me, you saved me and…"

"AH, saved?" Liquid jested. "No, at first you even scared me, but I took you in because of your spirit and I trained you and helped you because I could use you, so gullible…"

"Stop!!" Tiger raised his voice. "This can't be happening!! All that I did, the Black Unit…"

Liquid Ocelot interrupted Tiger again. "You have nothing that I didn't give you…this place, this fortress it was Ocelot that found it when he came here in 1965. The locals helped him to survive and showed him this place…after Shadow Moses…"

"…" Tiger stood silently, breathing heavily as he listened to Liquid Ocelot's words.

"Snake, do you remember when I talked to you about Tiger in Shadow Moses?" Ocelot turned and stared at Snake.

"I have no idea of what you're talking about Liquid!" Snake replied looking through the corner of his eye and seeing that his SOCOM was not very far away.

"Yes you do…I, and I do mean the real me, was talking to you through the CODEC. Think back Snake, when I revealed myself…when I told you that you had done the job of activating the warheads for us, I mentioned Tiger"

Snake narrowed his eyes and the memory sprang into his mind. Snake had been tricked into activating Metal Gear by inputting the PAL codes, after that Liquid revealed 

that he was impersonating Snake's old master and told Snake the truth about everything, and now something that Snake, at the time, thought to be inconsequential was now very present.

"_That's right. You were sent in here to kill us so they could retrieve Metal Gear undamaged along with the bodies of the genome soldiers. From the beginning, the Pentagon was just using you as a vector to spread FoxDie!"_

"_Fox Die! ...It can't be! Are you telling me Naomi was working with the Pentagon?" _Snake replied.

" _They thought she was. But it seems that Dr. Naomi Hunter couldn't be controlled so easily"_

" _What?"_

" _We've got a spy working in the Pentagon. He reported that Dr. Hunter altered FoxDie's program just before the operation. But...no one knows how or why."_

Snake looked at Tiger and right away connected the dots. "He's the Pentagon spy you were talking about!!"

"Right you are" Liquid Ocelot replied smiling. "It was after my death that Ocelot advised him to quit and begin anew. In fact I'm not sure if I had any part in that, Ocelot has his moments I have to say"

"You bastard!! This has been your plan all along!!" Tiger replied taking a step forward, but Ocelot threatened him with his Colt by jerking it a bit towards him.

"Don't be stupid and don't think of yourself in such high regard. I only came with my plan, this plan after the debacle of Washington D.C…" Liquid Ocelot again looked at Snake, he had been trying to think of a way to move closer to the SOCOM without Liquid noticing it, but it wouldn't be easy.

"…you were there Snake, you saw how I failed miserably. My petty revenge, my carefully constructed planned ruined, you shooting me! It was all planned too fast, too soon…but I won't make that mistake twice, no! What I plan to accomplish now is much bigger and more ambitious, but I'll thread carefully, that's what I have done so far, I really want to tell you Snake…but are ready for it?"

"You're just going to stand there and spill the guts?" Snake asked as he pictured in his mind how he would get the SOCOM and shoot Liquid.

"I don't...it's a very interesting feeling Snake, knowing so many things that you have no idea of, double and even triple crossing people, Ocelot had some fun…"

"What exactly are you planning then?" Snake asked taking a very slight step to the side.

"If you must know, this is just the beginning, it all started with a man, Captain Jean J. Gibson"

"I killed that man, you said he was a traitor…" Tiger said completely stricken by what was transpiring.

_The Colonel's friend…the carrier _"You're involved in the Unknown Carrier incident" Snake stated and saw Liquid Ocelot smiling.

"I was more than involved, I brought it all together; I instructed Captain Gibson to send a message to his very good friend Colonel Campbell saying that he needed help. Like a good friend I knew that Campbell would send some reinforcements. Unfortunately, at first he sent his niece…" Liquid laughed. "…what a waste, I almost put the entire thing on hold…"

"The delay…" Tiger said interrupting Liquid Ocelot. "You delayed my insertion on the carrier…was it…"

"Yes!" Ocelot replied cutting off Tiger's sentence. "I delayed your part because I needed more important people on that carrier, hard members of Philanthropy. After 

Snake and his partner arrived I kept a good watch on the surveillance tapes of the carrier, to make sure that the Patriots knew exactly who had caused the horrible disaster"

"The explosions!!" Snake said. "It was you, not the Black Unit"

"I can't believe it" Tiger said. "Those explosions killed innocent people"

"Expendable people, collateral damage, nothing more, the fact was that it was Tiger that placed the disc on the main computer, he thought of course that it was to prevent what eventually happened, I told Tiger that it was all Captain Gibson's fault, so he introduced the virus into the Metal Gears and at the same time removed information I wanted from the Patriots server" Liquid Ocelot was grinning.

"You made it all our fault, the Black Unit…" Tiger spoke, his voice gravelling.

"That's not the end of it. I still had to get you out of my way, that's where Snake comes in. With a slight push in the right direction I was able to get the Patriots and the U.N. to give Philanthropy a chance. This mission is that chance, but it's nothing more than a way for me to get the Black Unit and Philanthropy out of my way forever and still gain soldiers to my cause, your army, Tiger. All of this without anyone doubting my loyalty to the Patriots or the Black Unit"

_He was double crossing us this whole time…_ Tiger's thought were almost unbearable, never had he been so betrayed, his mentor was now his biggest enemy.

_I can't believe it…_ Snake thought as he heard Ocelot's words. _ This was his plan and it's just the beginning, damn it Liquid…damn you… _"Enough with this!! If you want, go ahead and shoot me! I'm tired of listening to you, if I die now they will still be people left to fight, to fight you"

"No, sorry but there won't! Do you remember the child you rescued from Washington?

_Sunny! _Snake thought!

"Ocelot injected the child with nanomachines. After I completely took over and after I realized what Ocelot had done I began to conjure up my plan. I found out where the real Philanthropy H.Q. was located thanks to those nanomachines and with the help one of Campbell's enemies I started it all. Right now Philanthropy H.Q. is being destroyed! Campbell's enemy is there, killing anyone that opposes him…you have no chance Snake, neither do you Tiger, everyone you have ever cared about is dead!!"

"NO!!" Snake shouted and jumped to the side grabbing his SOCOM in the process. He took aim fast but Liquid Ocelot shot first, the bullet grazed the top part of Snake's right shoulder making him miss Liquid's head by inches.

"AHHH!!" Tiger responded by pulling the string on his blade and then attacking with it.

Liquid was fast on the uptake, with a smile he jumped inside the Comanche's cockpit and closed it. Tiger's blade perforated the cockpit and stayed there.

The blades of the Comanche began to turn. Snake got to his feet and aimed his SOCOM at the helicopter. A fierce battle was about to begin


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Raiden struck as fast as he could, but Black Ronin was faster at dodging the blow. Ronin moved with elegance away from Raiden's strong attacks. _He moves too fast…_Raiden thought as he struck again.

"As I said, you're holding back!" Ronin said.

"Shut it!" Raiden attacked again with his High Frequency blade and again Ronin moved out of the way with ease.

"Your mission is to kill me, but you don't want to. You're doing it because you have to!" Ronin said now deflecting Raiden's strikes with its sword.

_Man, why can't this guy shut the hell up!! _Raiden thought as he tried to surprise Ronin with a sweep kick. However Ronin just jumped away from Raiden's leg like it was nothing. Landing a few feet away from Raiden, Ronin spoke again. "You won't defeat me like that. This fight won't be decided until you free yourself from yourself!"

"Listen! Shut the hell up and fight me!" Raiden said. "I have to kill you, end the mission and go back home" Raiden got his sword ready to attack again.

Ronin sighed. "If that's what you want then you're not the person I thought you were!"

Before Raiden could react he saw Ronin advancing. Raiden tried to block the sword attack, but he was too slow. Ronin's sword cut just below his ribs on the left side. Raiden felt the pain immediately and then another attack and another cut, this time on the opposite side. Raiden was getting ready to block another attack when he found out he was too slow again. Ronin had somersaulted over Raiden and used its sword to cut his back.

"AH!!" Raiden almost screamed as he felt the blow on his back.

Ronin was now behind Raiden. _He's really nothing special!_

"You'll pay for that!!" Raiden said and immediately turned around with his sword at the ready. What followed was a series of clashes between swords, Raiden was attacking and Ronin was defending.

"You're faster than before!" Ronin pointed out feeling Raiden's blows with its sword. In fact Raiden was now ahead in the duel, Ronin was retreating to the back wall of the room. Once the back wall was in view Ronin used its legs and the wall as a platform to launch itself over Raiden. Raiden even struck the woods panels and ripped a large part of them from the wall.

Ronin was panting. "That was amazing! Really powerful and fast!"

"Who said it was over!?" Raiden said as he whipped around with incredible speed. His blade was so fast that Ronin only dodged it by a fraction of a second. The step backwards saved Ronin's life, but not the clothes on Ronin's chest. They were ripped by Raiden's blade.

"What the…" Raiden said surprised by the discovery.

* * *

The Comanche was getting higher and higher, the string that came from Tiger's hand to the blade snapped. "No!" Tiger shouted. _He's getting away!_

Liquid Ocelot's laughter was all Tiger and Snake heard on the roof. "This is it brother…and pupil! If one of you survives then I expect you to come for me, isn't that right?"

"LIQUID!" Snake yelled out. _I'm going to lose him again!! _

"There's no hurry! Until we meet again" The Comanche and Liquid's laughter began to die out as the helicopter began to move further and further away.

"No! I can't let you go!" Tiger spoke to himself. His breathing was fast. "I'm going after you!" Tiger then turned to Snake and saw him looking at the Comanche as it flew away. "Snake! You brought this onto the Unit!" Tiger began to run towards him. Before Snake could react he felt a thunderous blow to his face that threw him to the ground. His SOCOM left his hand and a second later he felt what had to be cold metal grab his face. "You die here!! And then I'll go after your…your brother!!"

Snake opened his eyes and saw that Tiger's weird mechanical left hand was enormous, its fingers, it seemed, had stretched and could grab Snake's entire face without hassle. Tiger then threw Snake to ground as hard as he could. Snake felt what had to be one of his ribs breaking. Breathing became harder.

"I told you we had nothing to do with what happened!! I told you! Now look at this! My plan, my Unit, my memories…all ruined because of you and Liquid! Everything is done for. All I have left now is to kill you all, you and your friend. He'll be dead in a few minutes, Ronin is not going to have any mercy…she never has!"

* * *

Raiden was flabbergasted by the discovery. Ronin's chest clothes were ripped and underneath bandages were wrapped around the chest. Two big lumps could be seen beneath them.

"You're...you're a girl!!" Raiden said.

"No! I'm a Ronin!" Marsh said now with a strange look in her eyes. "They…they wouldn't have me as a student…"

* * *

"She!" Snake said grunting.

"Yes!" The youngest member of my Unit and the deadliest, Tiger spoke with wide opened eyes. "I found her in Japan. She had killed several sword masters and teachers of the Bushido code and had been arrested. She had no parents, no identity and a killer instinct. She killed them because they wouldn't take her as a pupil, quite impressive for a fourteen year old girl!"

* * *

"What!?" Raiden asked wondering what Ronin meant.

"So I killed them…I killed them all…they had no right!" Marsh had been acting different after her clothes were ripped from her chest. "I'm not a girl!!"

* * *

"Fourteen years old!" Snake replied.

"Yes!" Tiger then got closer to Snake on the ground and proceeded to kick him.

"AH!!" Snake shouted with pain.

"She stayed till the end with me, I denied her the love she felt for me and she denied her gender! She became a masterless samurai and I became her nameless master. She will help me catch Liquid and kill him. Yes! That's the plan!" Tiger looked at the agonizing expression on Snake's face. _You first!_

Tiger kicked Snake again and again.

Snake shouted as he felt another rib being broken. _I have to fight back or he'll beat me into a pulp!_ Snake tried to get on his feet but Tiger's kicks didn't stop. _Wait, I still have that!_

* * *

"Hate to break it to you, but you are a girl! Now that I look at you differently…you're quite attractive" Raiden began to notice that the slender figure beneath the suit belonged to a woman. The hair over Ronin's face also helped to keep the illusion, but now that Raiden knew the truth he began to notice everything. _She cried before…she had no _

_trouble doing it…_ Although it isn't a sign of weakness Raiden knew women tend to cry stressful situations.

"No! I've stop being a woman long ago! I'm just a Ronin, nothing else" Marsh's eyes went back to normal. "You know why Tiger named me Marsh before giving me the codename…it's because he saw a swamp in one of his dreams, a swamp from where I came from, a marsh! The Unit, him, they are the only thing important to me! I have to obey him…because I love him…"

"Because you love him…" _Love! _ The thought brought Raiden's mind to when he first met the love of his life. _Rose…that day…_

"Because I love him…you'll die here!" Ronin said and got in an attack position.

"No!" Raiden said clearly. "I won't die here! I…I want to kill you" _It's the only way I can get back to the people I love…_

The two got ready. Facing each other they knew that the battle had only just begun.

* * *

"Is there somebody there?" Mei Ling heard a familiar voice coming from the laptop speakers.

"Otacon!" She replied with a big smile on her face. "Finally! It's good to hear your voice!"

"I'm sorry, but we've been kind of busy!" Otacon replied.

"You! So did we, Philanthropy was taken over by some very bad men!"

"What!! Taken over! What are you talking about!"

It took a few minutes to Mei Ling to explain the bulk of the situation to Otacon.

"My…so is everything okay now?" He asked.

"Not exactly, there are still a few enemies around and Naomi has gone to the basement to disarm the charges!"

"So you're still in danger! You might want to think to get out of there. If you want I'll contact somebody from this end like the U.N. office that gave us intel, they are probably wondering why you haven't reported to them on our progress yet. Give me the info Mei Ling and I'll take care of it"

"Alright…"

"Wait!" Rose interrupted Mei Ling. "What about Jack?"

"Oh, Raiden and Snake are…are…well, they were safe the last time I met them" Otacon answered.

"What do you mean?" Mei Ling asked.

"Well, I got separated from them!"

"After you contact whoever you need to contact shouldn't you go and find them!" Rose said a bit upset.

"I will, in fact I just noticed that I can probably create a software access point and maybe put H.Q. through Snake and Raiden's CODEC. This way we'll be in contact always!"

"Alright, get on it Otacon, and then tell me how to do it, the Colonel might want to hear from you!" Mei Ling smiled again. It seemed that finally everything was coming together.

* * *

Meryl and Campbell had circled around the lounge area and were now ready to attack. "Listen, Velkan can see through walls!!" Meryl pointed out.

"That's alright, I'll deal with it" Campbell replied. "We just need to neutralize their advantage, the HKG36K! If we do that, they'll have to fight us at close range! I have an idea on how we can accomplish that, I just hope Velkan reacts the way I think he will"

"That's your plan?" Meryl asked.

"Yes, I don't have time or patience to think of something better!" Campbell replied getting the SOCOM ready.

"How do you plan to get the HKG36K from that guy's hands?"

"I…I don't know!" Campbell replied taking a deep breath.

"What? This is stupid…we need a plan, a way to win against them, we can't go in there outgunned…"

"This time…we have to…Velkan can blow this place whenever he wants, I need to get the detonator from him in case Naomi and that soldier don't disable the charges in time…that's why I wanted you to get out of here!"

"He plans to blow the building up?"

"The support pillars in the basement floor"

"But he would die too!"

"I don't think he cares…I know Velkan. He wants me dead for what he did to me. He has lived for this moment. He won't stop until I'm dead!"

"…" Meryl was speechless.

"You can still get away. Go to the second elevator and take Mei ling and Rose down with you, then tell Naomi and the soldier that's with her to leave the basement floor"

"So you were trying to buy me time to leave? I told you I don't need protection"

"I can't help it…I love you…I love you like you're my daughter"

"Uncle!"

"We're wasting time, go if you want or stay! I know I can't decide for you"

"I'll stay! Let's go!"

"Alright!"

With the only gun they had ready, Meryl and Campbell headed to the lounge area.

* * *

"That should be it! You should have an access point ready!" Otacon said to the microphone next to the computer. "You can take the laptop anywhere you want on the Philanthropy floor"

"Right I got it, now we just need to find…" The connection and Mei Ling's voice were suddenly cut off.

"Mei? Mei, are you there?" _Damn! What now?_ "Otacon waited a few more seconds, but there was no reply. _ I can't stay here forever…I need to find Snake and Raiden. _Otacon took a last look at the computer screen and decided he couldn't wait any longer. If Mei Ling connected again she could probably reach Snake and Raiden on the CODEC. _That's it. I'm leaving! _Otacon got out of the room hoping that everything would be fine at Philanthropy H.Q.

* * *

Velkan had a grin on his face as he saw through his left eye two figures getting closer to the lounge area. _Here they come! Why didn't you run away Campbell? Why? _The figures were almost there. "Major! They're here!"

"Velkan!" Campbell shouted dangerously close to the open area. "Don't you want to know…know the truth!"

Velkan raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

The Major took a step closer to where Campbell's voice came, but as soon as Colonel Velkan raised his hand into a fist he stopped.

_What's the Colonel thinking now! _The Major thought.

"The truth of why I didn't let go on the mission!"

Before they ventured further in Campbell had a slight smile on his face, he turned to Meryl and winked. _His weakness…is that he wants to me to suffer for what I did to _

_him…but what if he thinks he's wrong. What if he thinks I had different reasons to do what I did…he won't kill me right away. He wants and he needs to know._

"What?" Velkan replied.

"Colonel!" The Major said hoping for a clearance to attack. "Let me end this I can…" Before the Major could finish his sentence he saw the small squared box on Velkan's hand, the box that had the button, the button that armed and detonated the charges on the basement, the button that had been already pressed once. "Colonel!!" The Major then saw Velkan's mouth open, but it was too late.

Campbell had taken the time and had gotten closer, once he saw the Major with his head turned away he took the opportunity to take the shot and incapacitate the Major. The shot hit the Major's right shoulder and the HKG36K fell to the floor.

"Watch it!!" Colonel Velkan shouted too late.

The Major fell to the ground and right away both Meryl and Campbell got inside the room. "Don't move!" Campbell said pointing his gun at Velkan's head.

Meryl ran toward the HKG36K and picked it up, she then pointed it to the Major. "Stay still!" She said. The Major was bleeding from the shoulder, but he'd live.

"HAHA!! So, was this a trick?" Velkan laughed.

"I knew you wouldn't kill us if I said something like that! There was no other reason. I didn't recommend you for the mission because you were and still are unstable. You're not cut out to be a soldier…you've got no honor! And you're sick! What you planned to do here is over! You lost!"

"Then why am I laughing…" Velkan said and laughed again. "I am a soldier…and my mission will be completed, I will kill you!!"

"His hand!!" The Major spoke out loud.

Everyone's eyes were directed at Velkan's hand. He raised it a few inches and then showed everyone the small squared box and the red button. Campbell knew right away that he was going to do it. He was going to push it and blow the building apart with them inside.

* * *

Unlike Mei Ling and Rose, Naomi had her hands full. She was running towards the last two charges. Johnny had said that they had been armed, but she still had time until someone decided to detonate them. _Please…let me find them…_She thought and suddenly she saw the charge in a pillar still a bit far off, she would reach it in time. _Thank you! _The next thing she felt was a heat wave going through her body and a gust of wind pushing her back. The explosion threw her backwards to the ground. Before she slipped into unconsciousness she knew she had failed, she knew for certain she would be buried beneath the rubble of the building, she knew that all the people that trusted her would be gone in a few seconds.

* * *

As Velkan's thumb pushed the button down Campbell got to experience something incredible. His life was racing past his mind, the decisions he had made, the people he had helped, the people he had disappointed, the ones that hated him, the ones that loved him and among those faces he saw Meryl and someone he loved before Meryl was born…_I'm sorry!! I should have had more time with you!_

Meryl didn't see her past life decisions, what she saw was what she had failed to accomplish. She hadn't been a soldier in the true sense of the world. She hadn't gained the respect of others. Her dream never came true and now it was too late. She would die on a place she didn't belong too, away from the one person that loved her exactly like she was. _Snake… _

As the button triggered the detonation the entire building shook and the ground was immediately tilted to the right, but what followed was even more surprising.

* * *

The ringing in her ears made it impossible to discern even a word from the voice that was speaking to her. Everything was muffled. She then felt soft hands cleaning her face over her eyes. After she opened them she saw him. _Johnny!_

Johnny's mask just a few inches away from her face, the ringing in her ears eased up and she could hear him ask her if she was alright.

"I…I'm fine…how…how did…" Johnny helped Naomi up and then she saw that they were out in the open. The basement was right in front of her. She could see the pillar completely destroyed several feet away.

"I came back!" Johnny said.

Naomi looked at his mask. "Why?"

"I didn't think you'd be able to get both charges so…so I came back to help you. I disabled the other charge just before I heard the explosion. I guess one wasn't enough to take the building down!" Johnny said. "Then I found you passed out beside a car and brought you out here.

"The building…" Naomi looked up at the building. "…didn't collapse!"

"Nope, but it's definitely tilted"

"HA!" Naomi laughed, really laughed, for the first time in many years. "HAHA!! I did it…we did it!"

"Yup! We did it!" Johnny replied.

Naomi kept her eyes focused on the building windows. _I've done it Colonel…_

* * *

What was surprising was that even though there was an explosion the blast hadn't taken out the building.

Velkan had his eyes wide opened, staring at the red button. He pressed it again, but nothing happened.

"We're still alive!" Meryl pointed out the blatantly apparent.

"Not for long!" The Major said and right away Meryl felt and enormous pain in her chest pushing her backwards into the wall.

"Meryl!" The Colonel turned his head to her niece. Velkan took the chance to drop the detonator on the ground and slap the SOCOM out from Campbell's hands.

"Damn you!" He said and then grabbed his cane and used it to throw Campbell to the ground. "I've been waiting for you to be there, on the ground, helpless" Velkan then grabbed his cane with both hands and unscrewed the top. The handle had something attached to it. "This is yours I think!"

Campbell could see that a blade was encrusted into the handle of the cane, something he recognized. _That knife…I gave it you!_

"I guess I should return it!" Velkan said and then dropped to his knees, placing one of them on top of Campbell's chest to make sure he didn't get up. "Now this might hurt a bit!" Velkan let go of the rest of his cane and grabbed the knife with both hands. "Right into your heart!" He said and began to thrust the knife down. Campbell's hand stopped his, but Velkan was too strong. "Don't fight it Campbell, you're meant to die here…that's my mission…I don't care about the rest…about what Ocelot wants!"

Campbell heard the name Ocelot, but he couldn't think about anything else now. He was fighting for his life. "DIE!!" Velkan's hands were just inches away from Campbell's clothes. Campbell fought with all the strength he could, he was able to get the knife away from his clothes, but the strength was disappearing fast. _I can't keep it up!!_

* * *

After Meryl was pushed back she lost focus in her eyes. She had dropped the gun. A second later she felt another push and then another. She could hear Velkan speak a few feet to her right, but he couldn't do anything. The Major seemed to be punching her, but she felt no hands, just the blows. She then dropped to the floor, feeling blood on her mouth.

"You bitch! Without a gun you're nothing!" The Major said.

After a second or too Meryl focused her eyes and saw the Major standing up, getting closer to her. He motioned his arms, like a punch. He was still away from, but Meryl felt the blow.

"This is my ability, unblockable! Take some more!" Again the Major moved his arms like he was punching thin air and Meryl felt the blows. She jerked her head backwards and that was when she saw her uncle. Velkan was over Campbell with a knife pointed at his body. _Uncle!!_

"What about more of these!!" The Major said and again air-punched Meryl.

_Uncle!! Don't die…uncle!! _"UNCLE!!" Meryl screamed and then saw Campbell looking at her.

* * *

After the scream Campbell felt something rising, he had no chance to stop Velkan's attack so he thought of something else. He reacted by instinct after the strength to fight Velkan's force left him. Something he had done many times in basic training, using his leg he could place it just past Velkan's head and force it down. He did it as fast as his old body could do and he surprised Velkan.

"What…" Velkan felt Campbell's leg on the side of his head and then felt it push him down. Once Velkan hit the ground he felt his knife stabbing something but it wasn't Campbell's heart. It was his left leg. Campbell shouted with pain, but also with contentment.

* * *

As Meryl saw his uncle break free with a minor wound she felt a few more air-punches, but they didn't hurt anymore. She had had enough pain for today, she would have no more. She began to get on her feet while the Major kept throwing attacks at her.

_What the hell, she still has the strength to get up! _The Major thought while attacking her.

Meryl got to her feet, she could see scratches and bruises on her arms but they didn't matter. "I…I'm a…a soldier!" Meryl said and then took a step towards the Major.

"What!" The Major replied between attacks.

"I am a soldier!" Meryl took another step forward. "Not a bitch!" She was close enough. The blows kept coming from the Major, but they didn't hurt, they made her strong, they made her firm. Behind the mask the Major was a bit puzzled by what was happening, how could a woman be standing up after all the blows he had given? The question wasn't answered because the next thing the Major saw was Meryl's fist crash into his mask and breaking the bones of his nose and sending them into the brain, killing him instantly.

* * *

Campbell saw Meryl's punch sending the Major to the ground. After that he got on his feet and saw the blade from his old knife stuck on his left leg. Velkan was on the ground just beside his feet, looking helpless.

"I guess you're right…this is mine!" Campbell reached for the blade and took it out. The leg hurt, but he needed to finish his fight first.

"Campbell!! Just like old times…you've thrown me down…but you can't finish the job…next time"

"There won't be a next time! I'm not letting you go! You can't have my compassion, not anymore"

"You don't have it in you to kill me!" Velkan replied. "Not an unarmed man!"

"You said Ocelot before, what did you meant by that!?"

Velkan grinned. "He was the one who told me about this place and at what time to strike…he had everything planned. I guess I shouldn't have trusted him…why?"

"Where is he?" Campbell asked with a stern face.

"I don't know, he never tol..." Before Velkan could finish the phrase Campbell made his move.

He knew Velkan was telling the truth, and so he didn't need him anymore. Campbell wasn't defending anyone. It was pure and simple homicide. He threw his knife at Velkan's throat and blood began spew out from his mouth.

"You won't hurt anyone else" With that Campbell turned around bent down, picked up what was left of Velkan's cane and supported his bad leg's weight with it.

Velkan kept spewing out blood for a few seconds before stopping.

Meryl looked at Campbell and then rushed towards him. With an embrace from her niece, Campbell knew that the ordeal was finally over.

* * *

Mei Ling lost the connection with Otacon as soon as the entire building shook. She could swear the building was a few degrees tilted to one side. "What was that!?" She asked looking at Rose.

"No idea!" She replied.

"Well, I got disconnected. It will take me a few seconds to get the access point up and running again.

Time went by and sure enough a few seconds later everything was back up again. "Right, now we can find the Colonel and Meryl, we need to tell them that Otacon contacted the United Nations office and that we can talk to them!" She said pushing a few keys on the laptop. "Weird!"

"What?" Rose asked.

"Well I have a connection opened with the computer Otacon was using but he doesn't seem to be responding…"

"Do you think something went wrong" Rose's mind was set on Jack, she still hadn't heard from him, only the news from Otacon that he was still alive.

"I'm sure everything is alright…we should move and find the Colonel, I have everything setup. We can move with the laptop without losing the connection, I'm sure you're not the only one wondering how the boys have been doing"

"Alright!" Rose said getting close to the door of the server room. Mei Ling followed her out.

_I just hope everything is okay with him…Jack…_

* * *

"Can you call them?" Naomi asked Johnny after being staring at the building for a few seconds.

"I can't…" Johnny replied.

"Why?"

"You have the radio!" He answered.

Naomi grinned. "That's right!" Naomi reached inside her right lab coat pocket and took out the radio. It seemed to be turned off so she turned it on and pushed the call button.

"Colonel? This is Naomi! Can you hear me?" Five seconds went by before Naomi got an answer.

"It's me Naomi!" The Colonel replied.

"Is everything alright?" Naomi asked.

"Yes, everything is over…for now…good job by the way!" Cambpell's voice sounded tired. "For a second we thought the building would collapse"

"We were lucky, Johnny helped me out!"

"You mean the enemy soldier…good job to you too!"

"Huh…thank you, Sir!" Johnny replied a bit embarrassed.

"Sir!" Naomi took a few steps from Johnny. "I…I'm not going back!"

Campbell was silent for a second. "I understand, really, I do"

"Thank you for taking me in…goodbye!" Naomi turned the radio off as soon as she stopped speaking. If the Colonel had anything else to say she didn't want to hear it. She didn't want any more thanks. _I don't deserve anything else from them!_

"You're leaving!?" Johnny said hearing Naomi's last words.

She looked at Johnny's mask and nodded. "I need to leave…I need to find…a place where I fit in"

"But…"

"No buts!" She interrupted. "However you should go back up, help them out of the building"

"What! No! I'm the enemy…they would…"

"They owe you, the Colonel is a good man and he'll take care of you. You can trust me!

Johnny hesitated before answering. "Okay! I don't usually trust beautiful women like you, mostly because you upset my stomach, but you're different"

Naomi couldn't hide another smile. "You're really something else Johnny Sasaki! Goodbye" Naomi got close to Johnny's protective mask and kissed it. She then turned her back to him and began to walk to the outer fence that was placed several feet away all around the building. _This is the end and the start…I can start over…find a place and find some peace._

Johnny stood still and quiet for a minute before returning to the basement area. He took the elevator up in hopes that the people inside would help him, hopefully just as much as Naomi had helped him.

* * *

Marsh was near the bridge that separated the garden from the room where Raiden was. Raiden began to run towards Black Ronin, his sword ready to strike. Ronin made no move. She stood still until Raiden made his attack. She then swerved to the left and deflected his attack with her sword. Raiden drew his sword back and then attacked again. He was putting all his strength into the attacks. Ronin took a few steps backwards to the garden on the other side of the bridge and continued to block Raiden's attacks.

_Crap! I can't hit her! _Raiden began to feel his arms heavier, he wouldn't be able to keep up with the attacks forever and Ronin didn't seem to be tired. Suddenly Ronin blocked one of Raiden's attacks and Raiden stopped. He was panting.

"You look tired!" Ronin said. "Your will to kill me has grown, but I'm still better than you!" Ronin then took one of her hands from her sword handle and grabbed Raiden's sword by the grip.

_What! _Raiden then felt Ronin pull the sword from his hand, not only was she an expert swordsman she was also incredible strong for such a lean woman.

The sword flew from Raiden's hands and landed on the tree trunk of the cherry blossom tree. "My sword…" Raiden's eyes were concentrated on the sword when they 

should have been on Ronin's sword. Ronin had made a very nasty cut on Raiden's stomach area. Blood appeared right away and Raiden dropped to the ground. "AH!!" Raiden grunted placing his arm over the cut.

"I told you! You'll die here!" Ronin circled around Raiden. "Now die like a warrior with honor!" Ronin was beside Raiden, she got ready to give the final blow. She would cut Raiden's head clean off.

"HAHA!!" Raiden laughed. "Honor!! HAHA! Do you think there is honor in what you and I do?" Raiden asked keeping his head down.

"What do you mean?" Ronin asked.

"We are just assassins, cold blooded assassins…at least that's what I was, what I am, what I've always been. This time it wasn't up to me who I chose to kill, but…" Raiden got on one knee and Ronin reacted, she raised her sword and got ready to strike.

As the sword was coming down Raiden spoke and then reacted. "….but I understand now!" Raiden raised his arm with lightning fast speed and blocked Ronin's attack. His SOCOM barrel clashed with Ronin's blade.

Ronin mumbled with surprise.

"Now, let's end this!" Raiden raised one of his legs and kicked Ronin backwards. He then holstered his SOCOM and headed towards his High Frequency blade.

"You…you can't defeat me…" Ronin said. "Not even…if you want to… you can't!"

Raiden took out the blade from the trunk and took a deep breath. Right away he felt it, the presence of someone very close behind him, he did something he had never done before. He jumped back into the air and opened his legs as wide as he could. Raiden could see Ronin's beneath him attacking nothing but air. It was now Ronin's sword that got stuck on the tree trunk. As soon as Raiden landed he struck, Ronin was turning but it was too late, even if she had her sword ready Raiden was faster. The High Frequency blade went through Ronin's body just beneath her chest.

"AH!" She screamed with pain.

Raiden drew out the blade and Ronin fumbled backwards to the tree trunk.

Her breathing became faster. "You…you…"

"There is no honor in this death…" Raiden said. "I didn't even think about it before you came up behind me…" Raiden took out a small device from his equipment. "This alerted me to your presence…you should have won, but I did!" The nanofinder in his hand had been the key to Raiden's victory.

Ronin had her eyes wide opened. She lifted up her hand and Raiden saw it shaking.

"For you there…are some things…more important…than…honor…" Ronin then closed her eyes and kept speaking. "Tiger…I…love…" Her head dropped to her chest.

After Raiden saw her last breath he got on his knees and took a deep breath. "Rose! I'm coming back soon"

* * *

After the last kick, Snake felt it was time to fight back. He reached for the only weapon he had left. He got a hold of his knife without Tiger noticing it. Before Tiger could kick Snake again, he made his move. He struck Tiger's leg as hard as he could with the knife.

"AH!" Tiger screamed seeing the knife stuck on his right leg just below the knee.

_Now! _Snake rolled on the ground to the side and then he got up. He diverted his eyes to the SOCOM a few feet away just before the ledge of the roof. He began to walk over to it, and immediately felt incredible pain on his torso, the broken ribs made it hard to breath. He took another step towards his gun.

_I won't let you Snake! _Tiger thought and with a deep breath he took the knife from his leg. He dropped it to the ground and began running towards Snake as best as he could.



Snake was now near the SOCOM, he bent down and picked it up. As he turned around he felt a cold hand punching his face. Snake got on one knee with both hands on the ground and then saw that Tiger had gotten near him faster than he thought he would. Tiger stepped on Snake's hand, the one holding the SOCOM. He then got a hold of Snake's shoulder with his left mechanical hand and lifted him up. The SOCOM was on the ground. Tiger then punched Snake with his right hand on his abdomen area, with the hold he had with his left hand Snake wouldn't be able to get away. "How do you like it?" Tiger punched him again. "All my plans…" Another punch. "…ruined"

Snake could feel his breathing faltering. With every punch Snake's vision became blurrier. Tiger was stronger. There was no doubt about it.

"Everything…" Tiger threw another punch, this one made Snake spew out a little bit of blood, he was bleeding internally. If Tiger kept up with the punches Snake would be dead soon. "…everything I worked for…gone" Another punch from Tiger made Snake close his eyes. He was on the border of losing consciousness. "You and him…you are unnatural…you don't belong in this world…" Tiger said and let go of Snake. He fell awkwardly on the ground, his breathing shallow and with almost no strength left.

Tiger raised his left hand pushed a small button that was located on the mechanical hand and the entire thing began to make a weird unscrewing noise. The mechanical hand started to spin around and then dropped just beside Snake. In its place was a long dark black blade. "I…I will be the one destroy you and him…Liquid!"

Snake couldn't keep his eyes closed anymore. Not after what he had heard. _You…you can't…you can't…_ Snake raised his head just when Tiger was about to make the final blow. The knife was heading straight into Snake's head. "YOU CAN'T!!" Snake shouted. "I'M THE ONE WHO HAS TO STOP HIM!" Snake raised his right arm and made the only move he could make.

The long blade had pierced through Snake's hand, but it was still away from his head.

"How!!" Tiger said seeing Snake's reaction.

Snake then mustered all the strength he could and got to his feet. He then moved his pierced hand closer to Tiger.

"What are you doing!? Let go!" Tiger said seeing Snake's hand going through the blade and getting closer to his wrist.

"I'M…RESPONSIBLE!" Snake kept shouting. He then grabbed Tiger's wrist and with his left hand he grabbed the long blade. "I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HE DID! AHHHHHH!" Snake screamed from the top of his lungs and felt the blade beginning to give away.

Once it broke Tiger opened his eyes wide. _How can this be possible!_ It was like everything was in slow motion. Snake took the blade with his left hand and then thrust it towards Tiger. He had no reaction, the shock of what had transpired had frozen him. _They're demons_…_their will is…unshakeable._ And then the images came to his mind, like an awaken dream, the future revealed itself to him. He was on the ground of the roof, bleeding to death, speaking calmly to Snake. _This is it…my future…_

Tiger fell flat on the ground. He could see Snake standing next to him, blood coming from his right hand. "Snake…" Tiger spoke and raised his arm to his opponent.

Snake took a step towards him and looked down upon Tiger's face.

"We…we are not guilty …" Tiger's expression changed, the pain was too much. The wound too deep and he couldn't speak without it hurting.

"I know" Snake replied and then took a breath. He was still panting frantically because of the effort he had done. "And I'm sorry…we had no other choice…"

Tiger believed in Snake. He thought of his fallen comrades. His love, Black Violet, dead on a bunk bed, his friend Black Garand, dead on the rooftop of a decrepit building 

across the desert, his pupil Black Ronin, he could see her standing next to a cherry blossom tree, dead and finally Black Phantom. The man Tiger had betrayed. They were all dead. The Black Unit was no more.

"…Liquid made sure of that…he made sure we had no choice" Snake completed his thought.

"Liquid…" Tiger said opening his eyes further. "…Snake…find him…please…at the end…kill him!" Tiger blinked his eyes faster and his hand dropped to the ground before he heard Snake's reply.

"I will!" Snake said a fraction of a second after Tiger's heart stopped beating.

"SNAAKE!!" A voice shouted from behind.

_Otacon! _Snake turned around and saw his friend running towards him.

"Snake! Are you okay?"

Snake began walking towards Otacon, but his body was too weak. Something that had bothered Snake ever since he had woken up from the coma now seemed more apparent. A weakness he didn't understand took over his body, it wasn't just fatigue. It was something else. Snake had no choice but to sit on the floor and wait for Otacon to get next to him.

Otacon noticed the body of Black Tiger sprawled on the ground with a blood pool beneath him. Snake had done what he said he would do, finish the mission.

"Snake! My…you look…"

"Like crap! I know!" Snake replied.

"I had Philanthropy on the line!" Otacon said. "They've gone through something else over there, I hope Mei Ling contacts again, she should reach you on your…"

"CODEC!" Snake finished Otacon's sentence.

"Yes! How did you know?"

"My CODEC is ringing!" Snake took his hand to his CODEC and answered.

* * *

Mei Ling and Rose found Meryl and Colonel Campbell on the lounge area, they were both sitting down on the lounge chairs looking rather tired and bruised. Mei Ling explained what Otacon had told her about the operation. Once she finished she opened up the laptop and then sent a connection through, the communications protocol was one Mei Ling was very comfortable with. _ I see Otacon! This way I can connect directly with the CODEC's in your area._

"Sir, I have two open connections" Mei Ling smiled at Campbell.

* * *

"Snake, Raiden are you there?" Campbell was on the other side of the CODEC.

"Loud and clear Colonel…" Snake answered.

"Here too sir!" Raiden was also on the line.

"Glad you're still alive kid!" Snake said after hearing Raiden's voice.

"Yeah, you too!" Raiden replied

* * *

After hearing Raiden's voice for the first time Rose got closer to the laptop that Mei Ling was holding near Colonel Campbell.

"Mei, is there a way for Rose to speak with Raiden alone?" Campbell asked noticing Rose as she got near him.

"Huh…yeah, I think so, just wait a few seconds! Snake can you hold on a second?" Mei Ling spoke at the laptop's microphone.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Snake replied.

"Alright I'm going to try something!" Mei Ling said and began pushing keys.

Campbell then noticed Meryl getting up and starting to walk away. "Meryl? Where are you going?" He asked.

"I…I need to…do some stuff!" She said and walked out of the lounge area. She took a few steps and once she found herself in an empty corridor she took her hands to her eyes and sobbed. _Snake…I'm so glad…so glad you're still alive!_

* * *

"So kid, you still in one piece?" Snake asked Raiden through the CODEC as he waited for Mei Ling instructions.

"Barely! She was very good…better than me actually…"

"Yeah…" Snake turned his head and looked at Tiger's body.

"I've already used the nanofinder to confirm that Ronin's dead, I'm all ready to go"

"Just sit tight, me and Otacon will be right there, I just have to take a breather"

* * *

"Got it sir!" Mei Ling said. "We can use the enemy's radio as a relay, this way I can separate the frequencies. Do you still have one of the radios?"

Campbell nodded still thinking about why Meryl had stepped away from the area. He then took out a small radio from one of his pockets and handed it to Mei Ling.

She pushed a few buttons on the radio and on the laptop before handing it back to Campbell. "You can use it to contact Snake, I'll let Rose have a little bit of privacy with the laptop"

"Good work Mei!" Campbell replied and then took a few steps towards the large window. He used what was left of Velkan's cane as a support for his injured leg. Campbell thought that at his age, the type of wound he had would never heal properly. "Snake? You there?" He asked whilst he looked through the window.

* * *

"Just sit tight, me and Otacon will be right there, I just have to take a breather"

"Alright, I'll be waiting" Raiden replied and then took a seat on the grass. A few seconds later Mei Ling instructed him to change frequencies. A person that missed him was anxiously waiting.

"Jack?" The voice on the other side was soft and peaceful.

"Rose!" Raiden replied.

They stood in silence for some before Raiden spoke. "All I wanted was to hear you…I don't know what to say"

"Just say you'll be back!" Rose responded. "Campbell is speaking with Snake and I don't think this is over…"

"No it's not! Not until he's out there"

"Jack!"

"Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it. I love you!"

"I love you too Jack"

With a smile on Raiden's face the conversation ended. Raiden sighed and then remembered all the things he had done on the mission, all the reckless decisions he had made. _This is what I am…a warrior…a killer…I know I can control it. _Raiden got to his feet and began walking out of the room, his task was done.

* * *

"Snake? You there?" Snake's CODEC was back online.

Otacon was now using the nanofinder he had fixed to confirm that Tiger was dead.

"I'm here! We've confirmed that they're all dead" Snake said.

"I don't think it matters…I think this was all one man's doing…Ocelot!"



"You know he's still alive?" Snake asked wondering how he had gotten the information and then he remembered that Liquid had said something about an enemy of Campbell.

"Men like him…they have a tendency to stay alive far long that you expect them to be"

"Liquid Ocelot…that's who he is…more Liquid than Ocelot I think!" Snake said. "He was behind it all. Amazing how he worked out everything"

"I'll find him Snake…I think Philanthropy…is gone"

"Maybe it's better this way Colonel. I thought that having the people that I care about around me would make things easier, but not with Liquid still around"

"I'll make sure this building gets demolished, no traces back to you or Otacon, you two are Philanthropy now!"

"Sunny should stay with us too!" Snake said wondering if the nanomachines that were inside her body, like Ocelot said were still in effect. If they were Snake didn't want anyone else to get in danger because of it.

"She's in a safe house, but I'll get her to you as soon as I can"

"Alright!"

"Snake, I'll find him…I'll do everything I can to find Liquid"

"I know you will Roy." Snake paused for a second. "About Meryl…tell her…" Snake was at a loss for words. "Tell her…I thought about her. Tell her that"

"Very well Snake. I guess this is goodbye for now"

"See ya, Colonel" Snake turned off the CODEC and sighed.

"I guess that wraps it up. How exactly are we going to get out of here?" Otacon asked getting beside Snake.

"I have no…hold on, what's that?" Snake could see something approaching the compound. It was very close the main gate. "Is that a truck?"

"Looks like it!" Otacon replied.

"Help me up!" Snake said reaching out at Otacon.

Snake placed one of his arms around Otacon and then took one last look at Tiger. "He wanted to kill Liquid as much as I wanted…" _This mission…never again. _"I told him that I had to stop him, it was my responsibility"

"You always have to the hero huh?" Otacon said.

"I'm no hero…I'm just...I'm just a grunt"

"So what are we going to do about Liquid?"

Snake took a deep breath before answering. "All we can do is wait Otacon" Snake looked up into the sky. _The fights we fought today, they revealed who we are. You can always see how one truly is by how they fight. Even if we had no choice, the fight was still ours. This one may be over, but life it just one series of battles, I just hope I live to finish it, the fight, the battle against him. _"…just wait"

END

The helicopter soared past the desert. Liquid Ocelot was inside the cockpit talking to someone through the helicopter's communication. "So you have her! You didn't even go inside?"

"That's right sir, we found her trying the leave the complex. She fit the description so we grabbed her"

"Good, it's my belief that Velkan died in the incident, or he would have contacted me by now. Good job, now take her to the location. I'll be there soon"

"Very well sir" The communication ceased and Liquid Ocelot smiled.

_It's all as it should be. I have all the documents I need for now. Private Military Companies data, nanomachines enhancement and all the info that exists about the system. Not only that, but my army is also growing!"_

"_Liquid!! My mind!!"_

"_Ocelot! Are you ready to see it? In a few years time it will be done. My dream will come true"_

"_Big Boss's dream!"_

"_Yes. Everything I have worked for…Outer Haven!"_

THE END


End file.
